27 JANUARY 1990, Page 40

Qwerty etc.

Staring it in the face — failure! Staring at the hooded typewriter.

At least remove its cover. Look at the words those keys spell! Some of them you've never seen before Others you know too well.

The wisdom of the ages there and then And unwise things in plenty.

Perhaps you should cover it up again All this is making you giddy. Staring up at a Sistine ceiling And down at a Flemish inferno. Massed choirs singing all the tunes Innuendo, crescendo That ever were or could be.

And the numerals wheeling dealing In pluses or minuses.

The £s and $s, the glittering zeros Percents and vulgar whining fractions. The waiting dark parentheses The consequential questions.

Though today's a total blank Tomorrow's a working day It has to be.

Under the hood, rank upon rank Of imponderable possibility.

D.J. Enright