Uncle John

UNCLE JOHN Uncle is hardly an adequate description For a man who in practically every way Acted as my father when I was small. I have even started to look like him as I get older. I didn’t appreciate him till long after he was dead. He was my widowed mother’s brother, Unmarried, who lived in our house. Big Jack to his workmates In the shipyards on the Tyne Until one day a three-ton steel plate Fell forty feet on to his right leg And he lost the leg, Then he was a wreck. But he was a handyman - and made things at home. He read widely, taught himself German, Could play harmonica, and knew all about opera. He taught me how to play harmonica, And to draw sketches of ships, And how to cobble shoes, And to cut wood properly, And to never leave a job half-finished. He taught me how to be generous with time for others. And I learned my sense of humour from him. These are not the actions of an uncle, but of a father. ............................................ Written by Sydney Peck