A humble bach beside some quiet bay, a boat to help him set his net
Life-long that is his simple dream. Apparently affordable but yet,
There are others to consider,
His two young daughters must have ponies. They will just DIE otherwise.
This means grazing, riding habits, saddlery and vets, and, as you surmise,
One vast plughole for money.
And then they must have ballet lessons, piano lessons, elocution too.
He mustn’t moan. These are essential things that EVERY girl must do.
Can’t he see they’re talented?
And private schools. What else? How could he think that something other
Than the best would do? The girls are smart. They take after their mother.
Just because HE left in Standard Six….
He finds their appetite for dresses and accessories astonishing
And never-ending. Seasonal changes turn them into, “THAT old thing?”
Doesn’t he want his daughters to look nice?
The girls, not knowing what they want to do, in time reach university.
And both drop out in final year to move in with men friends. And HE,
It seems, is somehow all to blame.
One bright spot, now they’re gone his dream looks possible. That thrill
Is quite short-lived. For soon he finds he more or less supports them still
After all, he IS their father.
His loving wife upset at losing long-planned weddings, precursors of beggary,
Consoles herself by planning a big blowout for their thirtieth anniversary.
His enthusiasm? Point one on a scale of ten.
She soon has more than half the town invited. Anyone REMOTELY called a friend.
She’s doing this for him,of course. But he, perverse and selfish to the end
DELIBERATELY….dies the day before.