Poem of the Day: The Taxis

In the first taxi he was alone tra-la,

No extras on the clock. He tipped ninepence

But the cabby, while he thanked him, looked askance

As though to suggest someone had bummed a ride.

In the second taxi he was alone tra-la

But the clock showed sixpence extra; he tipped according

And the cabby from out his muffler said: ‘Make sure

You have left nothing behind tra-la between you’.

In the third taxi he was alone tra-la

But the tip-up seats were down and there was an extra

Charge of one-and-sixpence and an odd

Scent that reminded him of a trip to Cannes.

As for the fourth taxi, he was alone

Tra-la when he hailed it but the cabby looked

Through him and said: ‘I can’t tra-la well take

So many people, not to speak of the dog.’

Source: The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice(Oxford University Press, 1967)

Juan Morris the Writer