Decorum

You sat still at Miss Binnington’s No swinging legs or kicking feet Back pressed against chair back Bottom firmly held to chair seat. Children seen but not heard A rule very seldom broken Only in reply could Any word be spoken. The starched table cloth Pristine white and clean Ironed and smooth with Not a wrinkle to be seen. Cake stand with its little cakes Placed precisely in the centre A reverent hush prevailed as we Waited for Miss Binnington to enter, Bearing tea in China cups Delicate and thin Really the only way then To serve tea in. A little decorum followed Until she quietly departed And then, only then, was Our afternoon tea started. Eat as silently as you could As delicately as you were able Only an uncultured yob dare Put his elbows on the table. Seventy years and more years ago Miss Binnington’s now long gone A more crazy and frenetic world As the century rolled quietly on. Children these enlightened days No longer sit silent and in awe - Good manners and respect Don’t seem to matter anymore. Some times things change A little more than they maybe ought to I think sometimes we now Throw out both baby and bath water.