June 1988

My elder sister and her man,
Having got in just before us in February,
Were engaged;
The wedding was arranged:
July 1989.

By summer they had
Had 'their time',
The announcement had been in the paper
(Local, not National);
The congratulations had been
Offered and accepted.

My man and I
Felt that my father could now
Take the news of another one,
Without risk to his health.

We were helping him,
Packing up his dinghy.
My man said,
"There's something we want to tell you..
Juniper and I want to get married."

There was a pause.
"Oh. My goodness."
They had The Talk.

I expect they thought we were young -
I was 22, my man 21;
But actually they were only a couple of years older
In 1958.

My mother said she needed
Three months between weddings, so
We could have April or October.

I doubt they expected to get rid of
Both daughters the same year;
Thank goodness no-one thought a
Joint wedding would be a good idea.

The wedding was arranged:
April 1989.