Lovely Jubbly

I knew a man
who once tried to sell
underpants
printed with verses from the Koran.

Hard to sell,
so he stuck to the hard sell,
cheap as chips,
only more sacred.

Sacred as the market,
"Tis good, you buy?"
A long way from Camden
Middle Eastern Cockneys
brush away the flies.
"Tis good for your wife"
"Keep her away, the trouble and strife!"

I meet a man
who tries to sell
gilt framed verses
from the Koran.

Hard to sell,
so he stuck to the hard sell,
cheap as couscous
and just as sacred.

This poem was influenced by a recent trip to Tunisia; the Market Traders used a bit of Cockney slang to entrap the tourists! But behind the facade it was easy to catch a glimpse of the grinding poverty which entrapped many of them, as well as the faith which held them together.

The man unwittingly selling the sacred underpants was my Father in Law, doing his bit to improve faith relations in Leicester...