Missed Opportunity Poem by Neil Crawford

I enjoyed that pint in the Woolpack,
Laurie Lee's old local.

Had I known he was fond of a friendly
drink with strangers

I would have sought him out
in one street Slad

and 'put one in the pump' for him
as a way of saying 'thanks'.

But misreading a biography
I thought he shunned uninvited company

I was set straight by his obituary
but by then the chance had gone.

If only I had worn my glasses
that morning over breakfast

I could have toasted, with the regulars,
the poet, the novelist, the loving hobo fiddler.