THE SMILE
My mother prayed that I should have the sweet teeth.
My father said that I should have the big fist.
And life, lingering somewhere by,
Smiled on me, giving me neither.
"The Smile,"
from Young and Old
You can also find this in
COLLECTED POEMS 1945-1990(J.M.Dent, 1993).
background image: R.S.'s chair owned by R.S.Thomas Center at Unversity of Wales, Bangor.
This photo was taken in 2002 by Yoshifum! Nagata.