[Jayne Osborn]

Hi Jim,

I took this, rightly or wrongly, to be a nod to Lewis Carroll's "jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today" - used [quote from the internet] to caution people against being deceived or distracted by empty promises that offer future rewards or benefits that are not fulfilled in the present moment.

Another quote says "Jam tomorrow" is an expression for a never-fulfilled promise, or for some pleasant event in the future, which is never likely to materialize.

My immediate thoughts were:
1) If I'm wrong about the premise, then I don't quite get the point of the poem, and
2) If I'm right about the premise, then I would question the use of "she grins"

The conversation, from the N and his wife, is trite, to say the least; there's no lovey-doveyness between them at all, so I'd suggest anything other than "grins" for her response - maybe "she hisses", echoing the snaking of her tongue.

In addition, how about calling the poem "Jam Tomorrow"? I imagine it's a well-known-enough phrase to convey, subtly, that the request to buy some more of a seemingly unimportant household item (she doesn't even say "please") is indicative that this isn't a particularly happy marriage.

Jayne