2 DECEMBER 1966, Page 20

The 'Unknown Child

That child will never lie in me, and you Will never be its father. Mirrors must Replace the real image, make it true So that the gentle love-making we do Has powerful passions and a parents' trust.

That child will never lie in me and make Our loving careful. We must kiss and touch Quietly and watch our own reflections break As in a pool that is disturbed. Oh take My watchful love; there must not be too much.

A child lies within my mind. I see The eyes, the hands. I see you also there, I see you waiting with an honest care, Within my mind, within me bodily, And birth and death close to us constantly.

ELIZABETH JENNINGS