Don'T Call Me Manto, John Robbie! Poem by Margaret Kollmer

Sung to the tune of Evita:

It won’t be …easy….you’ll think it strange
When I try to explain… how I felt
When I did not reveal… what you wanted to know….
You won’t believe me
All you heard…was a girl on the phone
A girl who was just twenty-nine
At sixes and sevens with you.

You made me so rebellious….my tongue worked hard
Couldn’t see myself….. just hanging loose,
speaking freely then…. as you wanted me to
You forced it on me
Running around…trying everything new
To silence that wild Irish thorn…
I never expected I could!

Don’t call me Manto, John Robbie
The truth is you’re such a nagger
All through our discourse
You were persistent
And I insistent
You keep your distance….!

And as for calling me by my name
I don’t recall asking you to
Though in fairness I never gave out any choice
We spoke in anger
Were we.. a circus of style
Or an uneven match from the start
But we can come right in the end.

Note: John Robbie is a Radio talk show host. ‘Manto’ is our Health Minister who was interviewed by John and who objected to him using her Christian name instead of her title: Minister. This lady advocates the use of beetroot, garlic and onions to cure HIV Aids. She is sometimes referred to as Dr Beetroot. (In jest, of course!)