Hi Jean,(posted 8832 days ago)I eventually tracked the poem down in an old book my parents used to own - The Faber Book of Comic Verse, edited by Michael Brooks. It travels from fifteenth century to T.S. Elliot, by way of people like Robert Burns, Lewis Carroll, Hilaire Belloc (whom I rather fancied might be responsible for 'I wish I liked...'), and many others. It must have been from this book that I remember reading the poem when I was a child. It is a wonderful collection from the pleasantly amusing to the wickedly sharp. It's curious that a query like this has re-awakened an interest in poetry that has been overlooked for years, I will try & track down your recommended book 'The Weekend'. Many thanks again - I tried to contact you at dezane@hotmail.com, but got through to someone completely different??
Christina.