Moody Yorkshire Husband

“Where could

we start living?

—Ted Hughes,

“Stubbing Wharfe,”

Birthday Letters

Why did we fly the coop—

Abandoning bright New England?

The sparkle of America—

Reversing the pioneer push?

Going the wrong direction—

Ending up in dingy Yorkshire?

It’s because I was losing him—

He was unhappy back home

His wandering eye was—

On the prowl for young co-eds

I was busy teaching—

Doing my hospital job writing

And Ted was stuck, adrift—

He was starting to bar-crawl

I had to get him out of there—

Too much cute competition

Surely we could find a home—

A house of our own in the rain

Turn the goblins into elves—

Our vampires guides, demon angels?