Prof Duplessis And Tannie Yvonne Poem by Margaret Alice

It was in my second year of lecturing
that I met Prof DuPlessis and Tannie Yvonne
he leant on my desk and asked me to come
to meet his family

I told him about my Disillusionment
with Contemporary Philosophy
and he agreed – he could see
I was looking for Improvement

He played the violin and turned Saint-Saëns
full volume on while conducting
an imaginary orchestra
in his head

I met the magical Tannie Yvonne
and spent an enchanted night there
we spoke about Staal Burger and Bog Met Blou Maandag
it was broadcast before my time, how did I know it
they enquired – I told them my father taped it
and we loved to listen when we were small

Tannie Yvonne had a office at university
where I could visit her – and I often went there
because her loveliness was a breath of fresh air
in that stuffy building – and I took her to see
Fantasia by Walt Disney – those images of demons in hell
that would later plague me in hallucination -
but with Tannie Yvonne next to me
it was the best fun!