She is so beguiling
That when she beckons
I can run a mile
In twenty seconds.
The narrator of this poem uses its brevity to capture the sudden and immediate manner with which a woman he admires and possibly loves inspires and motivates him. In this very short stanza, the narrator describes the woman as beguiling, which suggests that she is enticing, charming, and charismatic. These features are apparently very attractive and appealing to the narrator for, when she calls to him, her beguiling qualities inspire him to “run a mile in twenty seconds.” This hyperbolic expressions indicates that the woman makes him feel as if he can do anything—anything the impossible.
I join the queue
We move up nicely.
I ask the lady in front
What are we queuing for.
'To join another queue,'
She explains.
In the opening stanzas of this brief poem, the narrator explains his frustratingly ironic experience with waiting in lines or queues. At first, the narrator is optimistic. He explains that everyone in the line—including himself—moves up nicely, which indicates that the line is moving at an acceptable pace. When he reaches the front of the line, the narrator asks the woman at the front to explain the line’s destination. Ironically, the woman reports that, once he reaches the end of this line, the narrator will simply need to relocate to another queue. This, the narrator learns, seems to make the time he has already spent waiting somewhat useless.
'How pointless,' I say,
'I'm leaving.' She points
To another long queue.
'Then you must get in line.'
I join the queue.
We move up nicely.
In this poem, the narrator explores the infuriating irony (and occasional humor) of waiting in long queues or lines. In this stanza, the narrator has reached the front of the queue and asks her what will happen next. She informs him that he will move from this line to another. In this stanza, the narrator remarks that it is pointless to stand in one line for ages, only to be moved to another. Even when he wants to leave, however, the narrator is forced to relocate to yet another queue line. In a strange twist of irony, the narrator does so and joins a new line. The poem then concludes with the same two-line stanza that it opens with, indicating that the narrator is going to begin the waiting process all over again.
The time I like best is 6am
when the snow is 6 inches deep […]
These lines, which open McGough’s very short poem, establish the narrator’s favorite time of day. As the narrator is likely representative of McGough’s own persona and preferences, it can be surmised that McGough’s favorite time of day is early in the morning. Given the narrator’s specific mention of deep snow, this poem is set in wintertime. This detail also suggests that the narrator’s preferred season is winter, possibly because winter brings snow, which is inherently calming, peaceful, and beautiful. In short, McGough uses this brief poem to express the peace and comfort he finds during early winter mornings, particularly after a snowfall.
