10 APRIL 1953, Page 26

To Time

We sang instinctive harmony Together, you and I, never a falter.

The virtuosity—the virtue and the grace notes!

The range—soprano, tenor, bass notes!

How young we were; of course it had to alter.

And now we sing the pseudo-simple air, Others no longer long to share Our sympathetic symphony.

Our confidence, our voices waver, We neither sing nor play at one As once we did. Those days are done.

But must we end as others have begun, Learning to set crotchet against quaver?

INNES RITCHIE.