[Joe Crocker]

Well that was one title I came up with, but I managed to find a home for it in today's New Verse News as "Self-satisfied Sonnet"

[Mark McDonnell]

Excellent, Joe.

[Jayne Osborn]

Congratulations, Joe.

I love it!

Jayne

[Susan McLean]

Good one, Joe.

Susan

[David Callin]

Yes, good one, Joe. You've been in Snakeskin too? Something we have in common. You'll often find me there. Well, fairly often. It's a good place to be.

But are arse and middle class a perfect rhyme for you? I'm too northern for that. And so, I dare say, is Mark.

Cheers

David

[Sarah-Jane Crowson]

Good one. It is very scary, the way the pandemic has intensified social and economic divisions. And polarised opinions.

For what it's worth (which isn't much) I reckon poems like that one, which are gentle enough not to put people's backs up, but accurate enough to prompt reflection in others, do something helpful.

Also congratulations on the publication of course!

Sarah-Jane

[Joe Crocker]

Thanks all.

And David, I am a born and bred northerner and would never normally rhyme "class" with "arse" but I positioned the Narrator as well-posh (he refers to his "mummy", practically a royal). And as an afterthought having a large US audience "New Verse News" readers would probably say "ass" rather "arse" but I couldn't quite bring myself to write it that way.

I do like Snakeskin. It contains enough things to stretch me as well as plenty of poems that tickle me in the right place.

And Sarah-Jane.Thanks for the sentiment. I am painfully aware that those of us retired with pensions are very protected from most of the misery.

Thanks again