This anthology started in May 2004 when William Walker McKenzie woke up on his birthday and had a Damascene moment. He said to himself, "Willie, it's your birthday, get up and write about the concept of time", realising that he, and the world, had indeed wasted this precious commodity.
A chain reaction began ending with this collection of poems covering various topics over the next 15 years. The poems were not planned as such but were impulsive, based on the world landscape at the time. Some poems are nostalgic, perhaps due to the 74 years that make up the author's age, but overall, he has made comments/observations in areas which he thought needed addressing but this anthology is not exhaustive. If nothing else, the author hopes that potential readers will see some of their own thoughts expressed here.
"I had to put pen to paper as I could not sit idly by and watch the world lose its way," explains William, based in Glasgow. "The most impactful statement I have ever read was attributed to Edmund Burke, the 18th century polymath, who said, and I paraphrase, "Society is a contract between three interested parties - the dead, the living and the unborn." It is this philosophy that I was trying to encourage as everyone has a duty of care to one another. Of course, everyone is a critic and entitled to their opinion!"
DELIVERANCE
Selfish youth, one-dimensional, fraught
Befogged future machined-gunned with doubt
But sustenance given, high standards taught
Butterflies, via chrysalis, soon break out
