How do you like it, Joseph Plover?

How do you like it, Joseph Plover, Now you’re twenty-nine and your life’s near-over All cosy-cuddly-settled-down, In your rosy bed in nettled ground? . Sure your future’s set With a mortgage debt For a cottage disenchanted. . Your sweet bride is fair And you love her dear Though she’s not the one you wanted. . Just mind your head on the lintel post, Meet your in-laws, deadlines, costs, While smiling strong when the camera’s on. Leave pipe-fed dreams and sugar-plums To wandering youths with itching thumbs. . Tell me that you like them, Joseph Plover, Your bank-backed house and wifely lover. Time runs out with unhappy haste And you’ve only got this life to waste.