Poetry by Stephen Lewis Ingham Pettit
This small collection is intended as my tribute to the wonderful island which is my home, therefore most of the poems and verses are, of course, concerned with Ellan Vannin and with life here, as seen from a particular viewpoint. I see it as one of the very few placid and stable refuges remaining in our troubled epoch.
Yet one does not dwell here in an "ivory tower", unaware of the outside world; so, for the sake of contrast, and to make for variety and interest on behalf of the reader, also to avoid a mere poetic echo of the familiar travel agents' eulogies, poems are included which may represent an islander's involvement in a wider reality which refuses to be ignored.
Nothing lasts, pressures build up demanding change; constant vigilance is required in order to preserve our heritage. Hardly a year can pass without some regrettable episode.. the thoughtless or misguided felling of ancient trees, the destruction for elusive or selfish gain of some last remaining building of merit or of historic interest, the imposition of some well-meant new regulation to add to the welter of petty laws in which modern man is hopelessly enmeshed and weighed down, making many contemptuous of the old ways, the system, incredulous of its traditions and ideals, especially when young and faced by a daunting future. The liberty we have taken for granted is constantly eroded and will not preserve itself. It is ephemeral, and so, precious.
What is to come need not be a replica of what we see as we contemplate the follies beyond our shining waters.
Stephen Lewis Ingham Pettit