Why I Was Late
Our car wouldn’t start and the phone wouldn’t stop;
The cat thinks he’s smart but the dog came out top;
The rain was too hard and the puddles too deep;
My medicines came late and the pills made me sleep.
There was sauce on my shirt and our neighbours dropped by;
My funny bone tickled, no idea why;
We had to wait for the Amazon man;
The dog ate the fireworks, the cat scratched my Nan.
Then food poisoning struck, entirely unplanned;
My Sis slammed the door and fractured my hand;
I needed more yoghurt, I craved a fresh kipper,
But couldn’t go shopping in only one slipper.
And also, I realise, you know what?
I forgot.
The cat thinks he’s smart but the dog came out top;
The rain was too hard and the puddles too deep;
My medicines came late and the pills made me sleep.
There was sauce on my shirt and our neighbours dropped by;
My funny bone tickled, no idea why;
We had to wait for the Amazon man;
The dog ate the fireworks, the cat scratched my Nan.
Then food poisoning struck, entirely unplanned;
My Sis slammed the door and fractured my hand;
I needed more yoghurt, I craved a fresh kipper,
But couldn’t go shopping in only one slipper.
And also, I realise, you know what?
I forgot.
This poem is copyright (©) David Thompson 2025
About the Writer
David Thompson
David had a long career in translation, editing, interpreting and publishing with the United Nations in New York and Bangkok and then with WHO in Geneva, returning to live in England some years ago. He wrote his first poetry collection (Days of Dark and Light: Recent Poems, Hobnob Press, 2021) mostly during lockdown. His second collection (Where The Love Is) was published by Hobnob Press in 2023.
