DICK DAVIS

DUCHY AND SHINKS

For Catherine Tufariello and Jeremy Telman

Duchy and Shinks my father maiden aunts,

Lived at the seaside and kept home together:

They bicycled in every kind of weather

And looked across the waves to far-off France.

Routine had made their days a stately dance.

A spinter's pas-de-deux, with every feather

Where it ought to be: no one asked them whether

They liked a life with nothing left to chance.

They showed me photographs of long ago -

Two English roses in a chorus-line:

I said 'They're lovely' as I sipped my tea.

They were too - at the Folies, second row,

Or down-stage, glittering in a grand design,

With every feather were it ought to be.

                   xxxxxxxxxxx

DUCHY E SINKS

Para Catherine Tufariello e Jeremy Telman

Duchy e Sinks, as tias solteiras do meu pai,

Viviam à beira-mar e partilhavam a casa:

Andavam de bicicleta qual fosse o tempo

E miravam, através das ondas, a longínqua França.

A rotina tornara os seus dias uma dança imponente,

Um pas-de-deux de solteironas, com cada pena

Onde deveria estar: ninguém lhes perguntava se

Gostavam de uma vida avessa ao acaso.

Mostraram-me fotografias antigas -

Duas rosas inglesas num coro:

Eu disse: 'Encantadoras' enquanto beberricava o chá.

Era verdade no Folies, na segunda fila,

Ou à boca de cena, cintilando em grabde estilo,

Com cada pena onde deveria estar.