Poems for All Reasons: The Musings and Amusings of an Ordinary Guy

By Alan Clegg

The Blacksmith
The blacksmith by his anvil, his hammer in his hand.
He beats a merry rhythm upon the hardened steel.
Tap, tap, it bounces, up and down, a clear shrill note as old as time.
The shoe he forms with an expert eye, as
practiced as his old clay pipe.


The Language of Flowers
A wish: A cry from the heart
A dream: A longing for something good
A care: For something lovely


Gary the Grasshopper
Gary the grasshopper was such a nice guy.
All he wanted to do was to fly and fly.
Around and around, and up and down he goes,
he bangs off the ceiling and hurts his poor nose.

From Ireland to Uganda to South Africa and all in between Poems for all Reasons which reflects The Musings and Amusings of an ordinary guy is really what is says it is, Poems for all Reasons. It is a reflection of the life and the various moods and humours of the author during the many facets of his life. No two poems are from the same theme or genre of experience, from the seriousness of What land is this I gaze upon to the tongue in cheek humour of Gary the Grasshopper the diversity is extreme to say the least.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Jan 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482804973

Alan Clegg

Alan Clegg was born in Ireland in 1947. He lived and worked on the family farm until he was in his early forties. He then took a two-year sabbatical from 1989–1991 to work with the Church Missionary Society as a farm manager in Uganda. After two years, he returned home, but he never farmed again. Upon returning to Ireland, he set up a small picture-framing business, but by this time, Africa was in his heart, and so he returned to Uganda on a regular basis for the next seven or eight years. In 1999, he was asked to return to Uganda as projects director for Africare–Northern Ireland, the funding agency for Besaniya Children’s Home near Kampala. This organisation also encompassed a rehabilitation unit called Cherub for postoperative disabled children. It was around this time that he met Sara, his wife, who is South African. Upon completion of a further three-year stint in Uganda with Africare, he went to live in Betty’s Bay, South Africa, where he lives at present. His first poem, written in 1990, took him completely by surprise as he had never written anything prior to that. Due to a hand injury sustained at an early age, he had always resisted writing in long hand and would probably never have written anything had it not been for the typewriter and the computer. [e-mail] Deo Gratias

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 Alan Clegg. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-0498-0 (sc)

978-1-4828-0497-3 (e)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa

12/19/2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A STILL SMALL VOICE.

A MONKEY ON A ROPE

GARY THE GRASSHOPPER

THE ANTIBI-HOLIC

UPON REFLECTION

CHOICES

OUR BABY IN HEAVEN

A BUNCH OF FLOWERS

THE ARTIST’S TOUCH

THE LONELY JOY

THE CHANGING FACE OF TOWN

THE COOL SURGEON

A TIGER’S TALE

THE HUMBLE SPUD

THE POETRY OF NATURE

E.U. FOLLY

I AM A MATATU*

THE POWER OF ONE

THE MILLENNIUM PROMISE

THE OLD CHURCH

WHAT LAND IS THIS I GAZE UPON.

TRIBUTE

THE CHILDER

A SPECK OF DUST

AN ENQUIRING MIND

BIRTHDAY WISH

THE IDLER I

THE IDLER II

THE IDLER III

A MATTER OF THE HEART

THE BLACKSMITH

THE AULDEST SWINGER IN TOWN.

AUTUMN

DEDICATION

To my beloved wife Sara

and the rest of the

people of Africa

ALAN CLEGG IN A NUTSHELL

Alan%20Reading%20cut%20out%20small.tif

Alan Clegg was born in Ireland in 1947. He grew up and worked on the family farm until he was in his early forties. He then took two years sabbatical, from 1989 –1991 to go to work with the Church Missionary Society as a farm manager in Uganda. After two years he returned home, but he never farmed again.

Upon returning to Ireland he set up a small picture framing business. But Africa was by now well and firmly mixed with his blood, so he returned to Uganda on a regular basis for the next seven or eight years.

In 1999 he was asked to return to Uganda as projects director for Africare Northern Ireland who were the funding agency for Besaniya Children’s Home, near Kampala. This organisation also encompassed a rehabilitation unit for post operative disabled children called Cherub but more recently called Acheru. In the meantime he met Sara his wife who is South African. Upon completion of a further three year stint in Uganda with Africare he went to live in Betty’s Bay South Africa where he is currently residing.

He wrote his first poem in 1990 which took him very much by surprise as he had never written anything before that. Because of a hand injury at an early age he has always resisted writing in long hand, and he would probably never have written anything if it hadn’t been for the typewriter and the computer.

[e-mail]

Deo Gratias

FOREWORD

Because I have lived in a few different places during my life and also I have a sense of humour the tenor and themes of