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Poem for the Twins

May 19, 2005
23:37 PM


David and Fifi aged about 7

Last Tuesday 17th May my twin brother and sister, Felicity (better known as Fifi)and David celebrated their 60th birthdays.
My mother, just before she died, had told me the story about how the twins changed position just before they were born.
On last Wednesday night my sister D gave a party for the brothers and sisters in her house in Fountainstown. I did most of the cooking but also felt I should write a poem.
Fifi, as soon as she arrived at the party said to me “I hope you arn’t going to tell that story about how I shoved David out of the way to get out first”
“I’m not” said I with perfect candour.
Read the poem and you will understand that I didn’t lie.

In 1945 there were no scans so twins nearly always came as a surprise.
In May Dr Kearney, my mother’s obstitrician had said to her:
“The child has a big head, the birth may take a while”
The child born on 17th May didn’t have a big head, it was a girl.
It was only then that they realised that there was another baby on the way.
He had a bigger head .He was a boy.
In 24 hours the girl had changed position with the boy and got out first.

May 17th 1945……………………………….The True Story

They were snuggled together Fifi and Dave
Together like spoons inter-curled
When the birthing pains started, their signal to leave
Their moment to enter the world

Now their waiting was over, their time at last come
Felicity trembled with glee
At last they were going outside of the womb.
“Let me out ! Let me pass, Let me see!

But David, the brother, he guarded the gate
Kept the world out and his sister in
Keeping them safe for this very date
When the rest of their lives would begin

And now Fifi wanted to lead the way through
She hungered to taste liberty.
But Dave held the door, he was head of the queue
With him there, she could not be first free

David looked at his womb mate, his sister, his twin
He smiled at her most tenderly
He pulled himself back and he sucked his breath in.
“Would you like to go out first “? said he.

David and Fifi at D’s party on the 18th May

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