Old Labour's Comforts
"You are old," Father Dobson, the young man said;
"As old as the party, I'll swear;
And yet you repeatedly fall on your head -
Do you think, at your age, this is fair?"
"In my youth," Father Dobson replied with a grin,
"I know that my body was brisker,
But now that I see there's some beard on my chin,
I like to squeak in by a whisker."
"You are old, Father Dobson," the young man cried,
"And your votes have been counted in blocks.
Yet you claim that the members are all on your side -
Pray, what is your mandate (approx.)?"
"In my youth," said the wily old fox, with a leer,
"I knew how to jig and to amble,
But if you report me, you're out on your ear,
And I have the word of a Campbell."
[February 2000]