Sheila Charles WISHING WELLS
I bet if there’s a wishing well around
And it tells you to throw a coin in,
You probably do. At least I do
And so do my kith and kin.
In parts of England there are wells
And you have to throw an object down
Then a rocki-fication process takes place
Thus the object doesn’t drown
As the water covering it evaporates
And a coating of lime would remain
So the object eventually turns to stone.
Oh, dear. I am trying hard to explain –
favourite things to petrify it seems
Are bird’s nests with eggs in and toys.
One child threw his dad’s wig in, in times gone by
Which proves boys will always be boys!
What reminded me of all this
Was I’m still reading my Travel Book
And I am now up to Italy.
I have been there. My good luck!
And at Rome’s Trevi fountain
Everyone else was having a throw
Ao I there and then decided
I too would give it a go.
I read that on average three thousand pounds
Is thrown into it each day.
I could hardly believe it but that’s what it says
So it must be right mustn’t it eh?
The fact is we were promised
In exchange for a coin or two
That we would return to Rome one day.
That’s proved NOT to be true!
So I am warning you not to believe
Everything that you read or hear.
Unless it was the wrong fountain,
Or the wrong coin or both. Oh dear!
Knowing me, I could have chucked my coin
Into another somewhere near.
illustration by ume-nori
