It was a warm day
when she learnt to lie.
In later years she could recall the scene
Precisely - beach and sea and clear blue sky.
She said, "It wasn't me, it was Janine."
Yet what she did - or what Janine had not -
That became something that she quite forgot -
Though her sweet recollection was exact
Of how her father drew her to his side
While silly poor Janine yelled and was smacked.
From then on, life was one long happy slide. |