Byron, Shakespeare, Milton, all dead,
Just goes to show you I am pretty well read,
If you like what I write, dear reader,
Please do me the honour and say ‘well said’.

The quality of mercy
Is surely not strained,
But recalling the Bard
I am pretty well drained.

And if you’ve lost your marbles
Or paradise instead,
It is your good fortune
For you can take Satan to bed.

Wordsworth I adore,
And read Keats by the way,
And if the sea is your passion,
Then you’re like Hemingway.

Wouldn’t you say?
And Christie was wicked
Murderess and all,
In the midst of the murder
Only Poirot stood tall.

I am running out of figures
Quite honestly so,
Cos living with the past
Is a deathly blow!

And, one more verse
I just can’t resist,
But, if you’ve had enough,
I shall, in deference, desist.

(The author is a prolific poet who has over 30 poetry books to his credit. He can be reached at ashoksawhny06@gmail.com/ www.ashoksawhny.com)