I Spy Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

Heading off to Calais
on a dreary day
to start a family holiday in Paris

Picture it:
Parents. Sally, Amy and pets
all crammed in with
sandwiches, biscuits, drinks, titbits and luggage
into a non-discript carriage

It starts to rain
What a shame
All of us are cooped in

The car comes to a standstill
behind a very long line of vehicles
Horns blow
We feel low
But, there’s no respite

My husband checks his watch
Drums his fingers on the dashboard
Sighs and checks his watch again
(He does this
Once every minute)
The pets are a menace
the children are bored
tempers fray
We curse the delay

Nobody wants food
But, we eat anyway
For want of something
better to do
Now, what...?
“The dog needs a walk, ” says Amy
“Are you crazy? ” asks Sally
It’s pelting down-you silly-billy! ”
“Sally! ” I warn. “That’s no way to talk to your sister.”
My husband checks his watch again
“We’ll be late -” he panics
“If we miss the ferry, ” I say philosophically, “we
miss the ferry.”
The children squabble
We adults grumble
“What should we do to pass the time? ”
“We can’t even play a board game in this confined space”
“I know, ” I cry
“Let’s play: I spy”
Not exactly novel
But, all too practical

We get busy with eyeing
trains, rivers, trees, electric cables,
haystacks, farms, smoke, horses, stables etc.
In short, a beautiful rustic scene
A scene I was to retain in my minds eye all my life

However
my children took nothing of the beauty in
All they promised to remember
was the seemingly endless day
when we couldn’t stretch our legs
and, were all confined to a caged up space
and, seemed to be on top of one another

Years later they had forgotten everything
the bad weather, the inconvenience
and the charming surroundings
all they recalled was our eventual destination
and what absolute fun they had had with us,
Their parents

How very kind of them thought I
And, I decided instantly
That I much preferred their memories to mine