Today, the cold and wet of early Autumn sapped my spirits. It was, apart from the unexpected discovery of an excellent Chippy to have lunch in, a dreary, often frustrating, dispiriting day.

So, as I headed towards sleep, I made one last effort to rescue my mood by browsing my poetry books and found “An Attempt At Unrhymed Verse” by Wendy Cope.

I read it aloud and couldn’t help but smile. The humour of it is irrepressible and the skill with which it’s delivered makes me want to cheer.

So I thought I’d share it here.

Read it aloud a couple of times. Each time you’ll find something new to smile at: the wordplay, the implied defence of rhyme as a natural way of capturing the rhythm of our thoughts, and the quiet joy of reading something at once playful and serious.