---
title: ▍Being Boring
created: 2026-05-25
modified: 2026-06-10
authors: Wendy Cope
category: Poem
tags: []
---

> ‘[May you live in interesting times.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you_live_in_interesting_times)’ —Chinese curse
>
> If you ask me ‘What’s new?’, I have nothing to say
>
> Except that the garden is growing.
>
> I had a slight cold but it’s better today.
>
> I’m content with the way things are going.
>
> Yes, he is the same as he usually is,
>
> Still eating and sleeping and snoring.
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> I get on with my work. He gets on with his.
>
> I know this is all very boring.
>
> There was drama enough in my turbulent past:
>
> Tears and passion - I’ve used up a tankful.
>
> No news is good news, and long may it last.
>
> If nothing much happens, I’m thankful.
>
> A happier cabbage you never did see,
>
> My vegetable spirits are soaring.
>
> If you’re after excitement, steer well clear of me.
>
> I want to go on being boring.
>
> I don’t go to parties. Well, what are they for,
>
> If you don’t need to find a new lover?
>
> You drink and you listen and drink a bit more
>
> And you take the next day to recover.
>
> Someone to stay home with was all my desire
>
> And, now that I’ve found a safe mooring,
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> I’ve just one ambition in life: I aspire
>
> To go on and on being boring.