The Life of Riley

The name Ronald didn’t stick,

I wanted to be left to take my pick,

John was an option, but thinking of myself highly,

I preferred the name Riley,

I envisioned the way my life would be,

I wrote my own autobiography, 

Conveniently named The Life of Riley,

A business man with a big heart, 

But that stayed hidden under my cashmere scarf, 

A life of betting and playing cards, 

That me, Riley, would never find hard, 

I was a teacher in many ways, 

How to live life in a practical way, 

A bottle of wine, playing trumps until the sun sets slightly,

Ace is high, isn’t it Riley? 

This is what life is about, 

I will be rich without a doubt, 

I just need a win on those premium bonds, 

Then all my problems will be gone, 

One marriage and a straying eye later, 

Will only make my love greater, 

50 years pass and here I hold my autobiography,

Conveniently named The Life Of Riley, 

I realised that Riley didn’t really fit,

I was there in name but not in spirit, 

I changed the name to The Life of John, 

All my memories of Riley had gone, 

The only Riley I had left in me, 

Was that I married Darling Peggy.