A Compendium of Poems

For 77 years I have been waiting to be asked; now, at last, the waiting is over.

This world (you) and I are going to change things for the better. This is our time. We are here to do good things together. To make the future, to bring joy to millions. You, me, we are the future. The future belongs to you and me. Let’s aim for the stars. I believe in opportunity for everybody. I want you to be inspired. This poetry book is ‘code for a fortune.’ Fortune in love, kindness and time shared with people you care about and will do so for ever.

‘Reach out and touch the fruit of this place, the fruit that belongs to the whole human race.’

You chose this book because you believe in yourself. You are a great human being. I am glad we have made contact. I hope I meet you one day, and I hope we can be friends.

Andrew Jackson was born in 1946 in Blackpool and grew up near Tamworth, Staffordshire. He had the most wonderful childhood; a Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn existence. He had total freedom to play and grow in the countryside and, when not playing in the countryside, he read books. Stories such as Children of the New Forest and Three Musketeers captivated him as a child. Throughout his working life he had a variety of jobs, mainly in stage work, and, for a time, owned an art gallery. Throughout his life, poetry was ever present and in recent years, it has played an increasingly important part of his life, as he attended poetry meetings and read his work at clubs and other venues.