When Both Ends Meet: And other poems

By Alan C. Hammond

You don’t need to be a “poetry buff” to appreciate the verses contained in this book. All that’s required is experience of this varied and sometimes extraordinary life we all share. Humour, tragedy, nonsense, grief, joy – these are all things we encounter as we make our way through our time here on Earth. There are times when we feel the need to get together with a friend and chill out. It’s good to know that others share the same frustrations, delights, depressions, triumphs, disasters – and, sometimes, we just want to have a laugh.
So why not take a look inside? Join me as I browse through life’s ins and outs and ups and downs – some of it serious, some of it, well… just plain ridiculous!
When all’s said and done, we’re all in this together!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781398423985

Alan C. Hammond

Born and raised in inner city Birmingham, Alan Hammond has since lived and worked as a family lawyer in North Yorkshire and London. Having brought up their three sons, he and his wife Eileen now live near Ross-on-Wye where he devotes his retirement time to his hobby of many years – namely, writing poetry and fiction. His book, All’s Fair in Love and Law, was published in 2011 and he has now been persuaded to put some of his poems into the public domain in the hope that others may share the humour, emotion and pleasure evoked by these verses.

Book preview

About the Author

Born and raised in inner city Birmingham, Alan Hammond has since lived and worked as a family lawyer in North Yorkshire and London. Having brought up their three sons, he and his wife Eileen now live near Ross-on-Wye where he devotes his retirement time to his hobby of many years – namely, writing poetry and fiction. His book, All’s Fair in Love and Law, was published in 2011 and he has now been persuaded to put some of his poems into the public domain in the hope that others may share the humour, emotion and pleasure evoked by these verses.

Dedication

To my wife, Eileen, our three sons, three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren, who make my life worth living.

Alan C. Hammond

When Both Ends MeET

and other poems

Copyright © Alan C. Hammond (2021)

The right of Alan C. Hammond to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398423978 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398423985 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

The Power of Poetry

Breaking news: A man and his wife embarked upon a steep climb with the intention of gaining access to a water supply. In doing so, the man fell and sustained a serious injury and, whilst running to help him, his wife also fell.

Will you remember that in years to come?

OK, try this:

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after."

How many years is it since you first heard that? And it’s stayed with you. Why is that? Is it the fact that it rhymes (more or less}? Or perhaps it’s the metre or rhythm of the words as you read them? Whatever the reason, it is a fact that something expressed in the form of a poem (whether a nursery rhyme or a Shakespearian sonnet) penetrates more deeply into our consciousness than is the case with mere prose.

The purpose of this collection of assorted poems is not to demonstrate my poetic skills (?), but to share with you various thoughts and ideas which occur to us all from time to time. Some of these items are serious, some humorous, some downright silly, but they all relate to aspects of this extraordinary and varied life on Earth which we all have in common.

I’ll keep in touch with you as you read on –