Not all romantic relationships are happy. In the following poem there seems to be some distance between the couple. As you are reading, pay particular attention to the poem’s form.
40 — Love
By Roger McGough middle
couple ten
when game and go
the
will be
tween aged
playing nis the
ends they
home net still be
them
Discuss
1. Do you think ‘40 — Love’ is an appropriate title for this poem? 2. At what age would you consider people to be middle-aged?
3. Considering the relationship between this couple, why do you think they play tennis together?
Explore
1. Think about the form of this poem. What does it suggest? Why do you think the poet wrote the poem this way?
2. What does the poet mean when he says ‘the net will still be between them’? Create Write a poem about a relationship between two people. 277
