Bound but free
I was born south of the river Ribble.
I was schooled north of the river Dee.
I worked west of the rolling Pennines,
and retired east of the vast North sea.
Although it sounds like four places
it is just one, where I like to be.
The Lancashire plain is not static,
it gets bigger, rising up from the sea.
Like other folk, I’ve seen many changes.
In fact we are all on the move;
new roads, estates, shopping centres,
fit for people who want to improve.
The fields have changed and trees have gone
as buildings and concrete cover land.
But this is the price of people’s success
as families develop and expand.
New gardens are now maturing,
where cows once lazed and grazed.
Many more flowers, not grown here before
are seen through windows, double glazed!
Will there be room for me to be buried?
Did I make an impression on the world?
I hope I leave something more than a stone
standing out where my name is unfurled.
Notes by the author
I live in Wigan.