I am very bothered when I think <br />of the bad things I have done in my life. <br />Not least that time in the chemistry lab <br />when I held a pair of scissors by the blades <br />and played the handles <br />in the naked lilac flame of the Bunsen burner; <br />then called your name, and handed them over. <br /> <br />O the unrivalled stench of branded skin <br />as you slipped your thumb and middle finger in, <br />then couldn't shake off the two burning rings. Marked, <br />the doctor said, for eternity. <br /> <br />Don't believe me, please, if I say <br />that was just my butterfingered way, at thirteen, <br />of asking you if you would marry me.<br /><br />Simon Armitage<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-am-very-bothered/
