Clad in purple leather comes Aubergine Gina
Ready for a busy day of couriering
There are letters and parcels and the occasional subpoena
She’s pliant on the outside and mushier in
Aubergine Gina in her pointy green hat
Is enjoyed by vegetarians in many kinds of curry
Couriering this way and couriering that
Always in a hurry and always better roasted
They asked him to plant a bandanna tree
And he considered there might have been a typo
He usually dealt with fruit and veg
And he wondered where he’d source the seeds
Pincushion Bill is a very small man
With a soft and pillowy exterior
He absorbs the unpleasantries of many sharp pricks
Which is how he got his nickname
That doorbell sound is Jonty McIntyre
Coming into the shoe shop
He does it every Thursday
Wearing a smart suit and a smile
He asks to try the size fourteens
That we keep as an oddity in the window
He does it every Thursday
And his feet, at a push, are a nine
His smile deflates as he pushes his finger
Disappointedly on the gap at the toes
He says maybe an insole or a second pair of socks
Would make the unruly pair workable
Jonty McIntyre leaves the shoe shop
With a cheery wave and a wistful sigh
But trust that he’ll be back in next Thursday
To try the size fourteens in the window
Poems by Harry Edwards 