Winter-warmer tins on strings,
Pockets filled with stones and things,
Pacing down the darkened street
Local Bobby on his beat;
Ration books and Chewing-wood,
Magic castles made with mud;
Spotting trains past smokey mills;
Blackouts at the window-sills;
Cocoa mixed with sugar, sweet,
Paper bags to hold this treat!
Game of Snobs, or Whip and Top,
Laughing 'til we cannot stop;
Penny for the Trackless Bus,
Driver waves and winks at us;
War-scarred innocents were we,
Winter, 1943.
by
Shirley Frances Winskill 1994
