September 6th was, of course, the date on which Mr Johnson stood down as prime minister of the UK. On the other hand, the poem (in its two parts) might be described as a celebration of adolescence, a developmental stage in which the growing human being discovers and explores self, its wonders, its powers and its boundaries.

But human society and its survival depends on the ability of enough people, above all our leaders, to move beyond that juvenile (and of course potentially delinquent) stage.