Under One Sky: A Collection of Poetry(Wordcatcher Modern Poetry)

Under One Sky is a collection of poems and stories, mostly about the things that people get up to every day. Some may make you laugh, some may make you smile, while some may make you cry. This is just a collection of odes and stories written by a former coal miner. Some of the stories are from real-life experiences, whilst others are just the product of a vivid imagination. These odes and stories relate to normal everyday life, and if you read them through you may think that you recognise someone that these stories are about. Form a picture in your mind of a politician driving past a homeless person, or an old soldier carrying a banner with his medals shining on his chest as he marches past putting out the hand of friendship. Or you can read of the assassin, or the hitman’s hitman. Read of the mourning of a clown or read as the poems shine a light on loneliness and depression. There may be something in these odes and stories that you can relate to. Maybe an experience in the dentist’s chair, or having that one last drink that led to a vow of sobriety after experiencing the drinker’s curse. But whether you are down on your luck, living on the streets, an army veteran, a war baby or have just retired, there is one thing that is for sure. We all live under one sky.

Table of Contents:
Contents 7 Preface 1 Austerity 3 The world he never saw 7 The gilded path 10 The escape 13 The colour of my skin 17 Oversized shoes 23 No one came 32 Mankind 36 Depression 40 The wedding cake 48 The assassin 52 The wheelie bin 55 The odd sock 59 The new boots 62 The false leg 65 The chair 68 Another hole in the belt 77 The sound of a jangling collection box 84 The hitman’s hitman 88 The cottage 92 Tears of a clown as the sun came down 95 Sobriety 99 Gold dust or coal dust 102 First time I saw her 105 Who wants to be a millionaire 108 The war babies 113 The hip swinger 117 A soft paper issue 122 Berets, banners, regimental ties 126 Our forefathers 134 Retirement 138 Loneliness 141 Cardboard city 144 A 150 Road rage 151 Spirits in the night 154 My Wales 161 The drinker’s curse 164 Sparkle 167 Second chance 170 The crossed-eyed judge 173 The hand of friendship 181 The hard skin 183

About the Author :
Ralph Jones is a former coal miner, form Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales who writes mostly about the coal mines, which is something he knows well. On leaving school at the age of fifteen, he went to work at Merthyr Vale colliery for 21 years before closure of the colliery in 1989. Ralph has written a book on the 1984 British coal strike called 'The Silent Wheels', to be released in 2019. Also to be released in 2019, written by Ralph Jones, are 'The Deceit' and 'By the Flickering Light'.