6 SEPTEMBER 1986, Page 34

No. 1439: After Lovelace

If Lovelace had been writing to Lucasta today, his famous first line might have read, 'Don't tell me, sweet, that I'm unkind . . A lyric, please, in the metre and rhyme-scheme of the original, begin- ning with these words but going in a different, modern direction. Maximum 12 lines. Entries to 'Competition No. 1439' by 19 September.