TAKE THE FIRST STAR ON THE LEFT FLY STRAIGHT UNTIL MORNING

Life, alas, is not poetry-
Though there is poetry in life;
Nor yet tragedy, for such
Life cannot sustain:
Pain becomes a bore,
And boredom I abhore.

So let me have comedy,
Let me have farce,
Let me have my giggle
At whatever may tickle
My fancy while yet
I bide my time
Waiting for the plot
To thicken,
For the story I am living
To unfold and send in
The next surprise.

And in the mean while,
If all else fails,
(along wih a glass of wine)
Let me have satire,
Comedy's sharper sister
- and in truth much less kind:
But which has yet been
A good friend to me,
When a sharp tongue
And a quick wit
Has served me better
Than gentleness
In defending
My foolish pride.

Manuela Cardiga