The Cleaner (1984)
U. A. Fanthorpe
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Links Off
I’ve seen it all, you know. Men.
Well, I’ve been married for thirty-two years,
I can do without them.
I know what they’re after.
And these students. They’re young, you know.
They don’t know what it’s all about,
The first years. And these post-grads;
I know what they’re after.
They’re older, you know. And by Christmas
They’ve finished here, they’ve gone. A girl
Can get hurt. I’ve been here eight years.
I’ve seen it happen.
Sometimes I say to her friend
You ought to talk to her. Does she know
What she’s doing? And the friend’ll say
Yes, she does know. Well, I hope I did right.
No need for any of ‘em to have a baby,
But do they know? I feel a mother, like.
Once I did ask. I said Do you know
And she said O yes we know how far we’re going.
But these post-grads are older,
They take advantage. These girls, mind,
They’re not all as innocent as you’d think.
Twenty stubs in the ashtray.
I can tell a lot from that.
Poem © By kind permission of R.V Bailey