I find a poem

I've been having a clear-out, and came across a pile of old notebooks.  In one of them, I stumbled across the following, written almost exactly twenty years ago.  I've only changed a few words.

After the War

The sunshine shines

And the garden gets too hot

And Peter and Christopher

Line up all the shots

But their energy goes draining

Down the drain of tomorrow’s good ideas.

Oh dear,

Where’s the spirit of the War?

Peter says he was out there

While Chris stayed at home;

But Chris says what were you there for

When I was looking after Mum?

And the garden gets too hot

And the reason for the game

Gets lost.

Oh dear –

Was there a reason for the War?

The sun is going down

Melting in the West

And Peter sips his sunset drink,

And thinks about his best friend.

And the mother of these grown-up boys

Will be forty in July;

So she spreads the linen tablecloth

Gets everything arranged,

And doesn’t wonder why

Everything has changed.

The shadow of the cherry tree

Is heavy on the lawn

And Christopher and Peter

Pull up all the hoops

By their roots.

They stack them in the shed,

Ready for the next game.

Oh dear.