Plain hard work and Time

It started with The Eagle of the Ninth

On Children's Hour, a million years ago,

When, sat before the fire, I seemed to grow

Into the Roman virtues that by stealth

Drip fed into me over the years

Until I was convinced the only way

To achieve a goal was simply to gainsay

The luck or privilege which my peers

Seemed to attract in shoals, and turn myself

To solitary effort, never praised,

Which slowly, etched by nightly study, raised

My school exams to doctorate, and a wealth

 Of quiet satisfaction, never prized

 Except within the sparkle of your eyes.

Brian Hick February 2009

©copyright Sally Hick February 2022