Sheila opens a notebook on her hospital tray and finds the draft of a retirement poem. She once put it in an envelope meant for a perfectly serious school meeting. The headteacher read the first line aloud before noticing that the second rhymed “inspection” with “biscuit selection”. There was a pause. Sheila offered to fetch the correct document. Instead, someone asked for the rest of the poem. The meeting began seven minutes late, and the retiring teacher kept the mistaken envelope along with the card.