To Derek it seemed much too quiet in the park.
Even the dogs were refusing to bark.
He walked quickly on through the shadows of trees.
The gaze of the crows and the sound of the breeze

Added a sense of unease to the place
And painted a faint trace of fear on his face.
He wondered how long this spring day would stay dry.
The clouds were clowning around in the sky,

Chasing each other like dogs without leads
Who run through suburban estates, where their deeds
Are often observed and recorded in song
By bedroom-bound teens who will secretly long

To run with the dogs as they chase diamond thieves,
With helpful advice from a butler called Jeeves.
The clouds found a suitable land for their rain,
Like dogs finding lamp posts, a massive Great Dane

Of a cloud brought a downpour that made people hide.
They pulled up their hoods or sought shelter inside.
Derek went into an old antiques shop
And brought some rain water. A bucket and mop

Were needed to clear up the pool on the floor,
On a bare patch of carpet inside the front door.
This dark shop was full of antiques and old junk.
An ungainly bull or an off-balance drunk

Couldn't help breaking old tea cups and saucers
And fine china plates with minute scenes from Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales, or from Shakespeare's Macbeth,
Or colourful scenes that depict the black death.

A stuffed bird's glass eye cast a sorrowful gaze
Over the shop and its intricate maze
Of paths between cabinets, sideboards and tables,
Owned by eye-witnesses to Aesop's fables.

Prints, maps and paintings adorned the shop's walls,
Portraits that once hung in vast stately halls.
For Derek the shop seemed more like a museum.
He wondered if some of these objects could see him.

Each time he looked at the portraits the eyes
Were staring at him. To his surprise
He saw two real eyes in the dark, like two stars.
They stunned him like headlights of oncoming cars

On poor helpless rabbits on roads late at night.
A woman emerged from the dark to the light.
She looked about eighty. She smiled and said, "Welcome."
She asked if he'd like to see teapots from Belgium.

Before he could answer she took him to see
The Belgian teapots and a skeleton key,
A stuffed Persian cat and an owl that were owned
By a woman who had been convinced she had cloned

Her favourite pet cat and a mouse it had caught,
But as it eventually transpired, she had not.
Derek was shown many vases and paintings.
He listened to her as she tried to explain things

About what to look for in buying antiques.
Cracks will de-value a vase and cause leaks.
She showed him a small silver egg cup and said,
"The owner of this used to take it to bed.

"He kept the egg cup in his pocket by day.
Close to his heart it was destined to stay.
It brought him good luck till the day that he died.
His sad sudden death came about when he tried

"To re-wire a doorbell to make the sound louder.
His ill-judged experiment involved some gunpowder.
For decades before his spectacular death
He wasn't familiar with losing a bet,

"And he became very successful with women.
They used to think he was as sour as a lemon.
When he had the egg cup they saw he had class,
Like a slice of lemon with ice in a glass."

He wanted to leave so he said he would buy
The old silver egg cup. This brought her great joy.
He paid twenty euros. She told him he'd made
A well-informed purchase -- he's sharp as a blade.

When he left the shop, the rain clouds had cleared.
The clouds in the sky were like Santa's white beard,
Or poodles who raced right across the blue sky.
Santa could bet on the outcome up high.

Derek thought he might just get his cash back.
The egg cup's good luck could be tried at the track.
He bet on a dog who was fifty-to-one,
Who stared at spectators when they shouted 'Run!'.

He gave the egg cup to his sister, who thought
That this was the best birthday present he'd bought.
She was intrigued by this silver antique.
She sold it for ten-thousand euros last week.