Verses from The East

By Mark Rasdall

I lived in East Anglia for nearly two thirds of my life. My earliest memories are of walking along riverbanks and ancient droves, occasionally also venturing to the neighbouring village - Helpston - and tramping over heathland once surveyed and recorded so poetically by John Clare.

Later - and for 25 years - I became a commuter into London. Inspired by my days back in the Fens, and observations of characters and scenes taking place inside and outside of railway carriages, this is a collection of freeform verses that - no matter where my mind or body roams - continues to take me back there; and perhaps many of you for the first time

Verses include The Ticket Collector who inspected my regular tickets for railway journeys from Cambridge to London; No candlelight in the morning about my late grandfather's journey from his tiny Fenland village to the Western Front; Sense about a little boy clinging to his mother's hand as they are on the move again, their destination seemingly unknown to either of them, and For Charlotte, riding high about a little girl who drowned in a tragic accident in the Ramsey Forty Foot drain.

Hopefully these verses will capture the loneliness, but also the hope contained within this vast flat and watery landscape.

You may also be interested in other titles from this author as part of the 'East Anglia Collection.'

Railway Lines (a series of satirical commuter sketches).

Tales from Waxling Beach (a full-length mystery novel set on the North Norfolk coast).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DY1TQSS6
• ISBN13: 9798311477444
• Release Date: February 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"