Indian Boyhood

Spike Milligan 1918 (Ahmednagar, India) – 2002 (Rye, United Kingdom)



What happened to the boy I was?
Why did he run away?
And leave me old and thinking, like
There'd been no yesterday?
What happened then?
Was I that boy?
Who laughed and swam in the bund*
Is there no going back?
No recompense?
Is there nothing?
No refund?

__________________

* bund: an embankment used especially in India to control the flow of water.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on August 26, 2020

Modified on March 14, 2023

19 sec read
65

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXAXXBXXXB X
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 337
Words 64
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 11, 1

Spike Milligan

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE, better known as Spike Milligan, was born in British India. His talent for comedy was evident from an early age, and he found fame as a member of the Goons, along with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. He wrote many books, including volumes of comic verse. He was also a passionate campaigner for animal rights and the environment. more…

All Spike Milligan poems | Spike Milligan Books

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