Aurora and Terry

A Carolean Verse Romance

This story was written for the Soaring Twenties Social Club (STSC) Symposium. This month, the theme is Fiction.

Aurora and Terry

Introduction

This poem is in the style of an Elizabethan¹ verse romance², such as Venus and Adonis or Hero and Leander. The term Carolean refers to the fact that we are now in the reign of Charles III.

It is loosely (very loosely) based on my experience at a place called Kilburn Polytechnic. I was very friendly with a girl there. Aurora wasn’t her real name, and we were not romantically involved. We just got on really well together and enjoyed each other’s company and had a good laugh.

We lost touch, unfortunately, but if she happens to come across this she might remember the great time we had in each other’s company.

Aurora and Terry

In London towards the north and west,

In a valley flown by birds of the best

Plumage: I mean pigeon, sparrow, robin, wren;

With public houses never lacking men,

And flowers of every single hue,

And trees of might – the oak and yew –

Fair Kilburn lies in all its glory,

The setting place of my rude³ story.

‘Twas in this place (or so I’m told⁴)

That a boy called Terry, brave and bold,

To the polytechnic there a journey made

In his quest to make the grade.

Now Terry was a handsome knight:

His hair was dark, his eyes were bright,

No matter where he went the girls would swoon

As soon as he adorned the room.

Aurora too had joined the college

In order to extend her knowledge.

Make-up wore she none, I’ve heard them say⁵;

Her radiance outshone the day.

To win her hand, at her behest

Men would embark on any quest.

But on her studies her mind was set –

She would enter no man’s net.

Terry opted for English Lit⁶

Aurora also went for it.

And so it was the scene was set:

As soon as once their eyes had met

In lesson one, both were smote⁷,

For as Christopher Marlowe wrote⁸,

“Where both deliberate the love is slight:

Whoever lov’d that lov’d not at first sight?”

But love seemed doomed as both prevaricated. 

Their grades went down: not unrelated!

Terry, love-struck, love-sick and forlorn

Declined to go to college every morn.

He moped around the house instead

And eventually he took to bed.

Full oft he turn’d and also toss’d.

“Alas, alack!”, he cried. “I’m lost.”

His face was pale as laundered linen,

That all could tell the plight he’d been in⁹.

And no doubt Terry would have died

Had not his mother come inside

And said, “Come on Terry, join a club

Or have a drink in yonder pub.”

Terry, thinking this was sense, arose and walked abroad¹⁰ from thence.

Aurora too was quite depressed – 

Unrequited love yields such distress!

But Jack¹¹ their teacher had eyes to see,

And like, Pandarus¹², said “It’s up to me

To get these would-be lovers together.

I can tell it will be heavy weather.”

And so he pulled our knight aside

And said “Act soon before your goose is fried¹³.

Aurora’s having trouble with Henry 4th Part 2

With any luck she’ll turn to you.

But to rely on looks is fit for fools.

You have brains and looks: worthy tools

To win a maiden’s heart. If I am right

She’ll be seeing you this very night.”

Then to Aurora this teacher sped.

She sighed, “I have denied a handsome knight's advances

And chose¹⁴ instead to attend your classes"

“Perish the thought!¹⁵”, spake Jack, smiling as he said,

“Come, come, my dear, horror on horror's head¹⁶.”

And so the plan was hatched, and left to Fate.

That very night they met – why wait?

To get rid of temptation, one must yield to’t¹⁷,

But Terry, being shy, was loth to do’t,

And Aurora, being female, the first move could not make,

And so they discussed Shakespeare, from early until late.

Aurora, feeling full of bliss,

Sealed the evening with a kiss.

Such was the shock, poor Terry died.

And where he fell, a sunflower sprang of gigantic size.

And this, as Ovid¹⁸, tells, is how the sunflower came about.

Thus ends my tale. I hope you enjoyed it, without a doubt.

1. That is, during the reign of Elizabeth I.

2. The word ‘romance’ in this context means a story or fable.

3. Rude means rough, unpolished, in this context.

4. Cf Geoff Chaucer in his epic work Troilus and Criseyde: “Look, mate, I wasn’t there, I’m only telling you what I’ve heard, so don’t shoot the messenger, OK?” — or words to that effect.

5. See footnote 4.

6. That is, English Literature ‘A’ (Advanced) Level.

7. Yes, I know it should be ‘smitten’, but I am using poetic licence. I know my rights.

8. In his verse romance, Hero and Leander. He came up with this observation centuries before Gladwell wrote his book Blink.

9. I like to think Ogden Nash would have appreciated this appalling rhyme. After all, he rhymed Celts with else, and extinct with thinked.

10. ‘Abroad’ used to mean outside, not overseas.

11. This is a reference to our English teacher, John Tipping. A wonderful teacher who I wrote about in

Thanks again, JT

12. Pandarus was the go-between/matchmaker in Troilus and Criseyde (Chaucer) and Troilus and Cressida Shakespeare).

13. I couldn’t think of something that rhymes with ‘cooked’ in this context.

14. Please see footnote 7.

15. One of JT’s favourite sayings.

16. Please see footnote 15.

17. This is a slight rewording of Oscar Wilde’s aphorism: the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

18. In Metamorphoses — the original, not the similarly-named story by Kafka.