Another Story 1976 Poem by Terry Collett

His father
had been and gone;
he'd seen him off
on the last train.

Nine year since
last seen before that.

Talked of childhood
which was all
his father knew;
of cinemas and theatres
back then.

Time past
and time future
as Eliot had said.

Time present was gone
once you said it;
the now all there was
but then gone before
you could say now.

His father had a similar
moustache he had
when Benny was a child.

The same staring eyes;
same walk.

Regrets are
futile things;
he had none.

His father had gone;
the train out of sight.

Benny's wife
had welcomed
not knowing him
or the history.

But that, Benny mused,
was another story.