Home and Away: A Personal Anthology - Tapa dura

Although I have penned the odd verse since I was a youngster, I started writing regularly when I married. For the past forty-three years, I have composed for my wife Marion a poem for our anniversary, her birthday on the following day and for Valentine’s Day. She calls me a dreamy romantic, and I probably am, but I don’t apologies for it. The tradition has progressed so that I usually provide a piece for birthdays of my family, occasionally for friends, and also for special occasions. These have been my main inspiration. Two other stimuli act as my muse: a love of travel and a love of Nature. Professionally and on vacation, I have travelled widely, and on all modes of transport. I am not particularly knowledgeable about Nature, but I love observing the cycle of the seasons and their effect on birds and small animals in the area where I live.