Facing faces old and new
I register at the desk.
They give me newsletters,
Pamphlets, papers, and
A label which I mustn't lose.
Events start late --
Some not at all.
The rooms are changed,
The times are changed;
I somehow muddle through.
"Just be nice to each other
For an hour or so"
The advert said. So we
Arrived,
nervously exchanged names
And
faces, and touched each other.
"You'll make friends who will
Stay with you" continued the ad.
And I did and he did.
John Dawson
Sheffield, 1982