Thomas Anthony Liddell

York, England, UK

I was born in York 23/11/33 and I am now retired due to a heart attack suffered four years ago. As I slung my gas-mask over my shoulder and sat out a saturation-bombing raid I said to myself, "What a terrible, horrible world." After the war, I enjoyed swimming, sailing boats, fishing, fighting, chess, skating, cigarettes, beer, piano, marriage, engineering, snooker, boxing, York Boy's Club, York Railway Institute, football, minding, window cleaning, ghost spotting, rugby, darts and watching wrestling. I have 17 oil painting pictures hanging in my home. I am divorced. I also like cycling and motoring. I'm a "jack of all trades," master of none; never been bored—I've had such fun.

The Kiss From The Sea 1937 A.D.

Then I searched for THE KISS FROM THE SEA.
We'd travelled and there we were happy to be.
My castles of sand stood tall and proud,
They might even have drawn an admiring crowd.

Then a jealous wave encrypted the sands,
'Twas the KISS FROM THE SEA, I started waving my hands.
It was trying to sweep me out to sea,
Of this there was no doubt, you see.

I shouted out "Please set me free,
I'm only three years old, It's ME.
But there was not a compartment in the sea
For compassion, pity, or small MERC-Y.

I could not believe it, the sea was so cruel,
But I knew I was in for one hell of a duel.
I fought a good fight but 'twas all in vain,
Would I ever see anything ever again?

Then an ANGEL FROM HEAVEN plucked me out of the foam,
The next thing I knew we were on our way home.
I now have the answer to this mysterious sum,
A tot's best friend is usually its MUM.

Henry

A bowl of water, a bite to eat,
A walk in the park each day was a treat,
HENRY was loveable and crafty as well,
Being trapped in flesh of a cross-breed was hell.

Fetching a ball or running for sticks
Meant nothing to him, they were not his tricks,
But if I left my chair with a nonchalant air,
When I looked again, HENRY was there.

He never caught anything, he had no pace,
But he shrieked with joy at the start of a chase.
The rabbits obliged, popping out of their burrows,
Then ran like the wind, straight down the furrows.

The cats just made for places so narrow,
They knew it was "NO-GO" for four legs and a marrow.
The dogs just fled, the birds flew high,
But some of them watched as he bit the sky.

After years of frustration he knew 'twas his fate,
HENRY rolled over by the old garden gate,
He'll be with friends like peas in a pod,
Frustrated no more, he has gone to his God.