Peter Todd was born in Gloucester in 1943, though he spent he first ten years of his life elsewhere, in various state homes, a difficult period he often speaks of in his poems. That early struggle ended in 1953, when he returned to the city, where he has lived since.  A self-taught poet, Peter humbly admits that  “I do not read the writings of other poets, and I could barely try to equal another’s writings.”  His sincerity and his love for Gloucester show through his verse; he has read on many occasions in Gloucester, including at the dedication of the city’s World War II memorial in May of 2005.  Soon after Peter’s death in December, 2015, a book dedicated to his memory and poetry, An Innocence of Vision, was published in Gloucester as reported in The Gloucester Daily Times.  It is available in local bookstores.

 

 

Gloucester’s Triangle of Heroes

 

We break ground to honor Gloucester’s heroes

The dedicated veterans of World War 2.

We gather in this triangle of vision

Through the work of living veterans long due

From the pen of Mayor Charles Brown

To the dedication we share in today

The Honorable Ralph B. O’Maley renown

In witness of heroes of that time, this day

Today this circle in hearts becomes a triangle

The reflection of these heroes of Gloucester’s past

Through the vision of World War 2 soldiers here

The reality of this memorial is dyed and cast

As the cadence is heard and the bugle sounds

We give praise to god for all the veterans of World War 2

Let the Flag of Freedom in glory be flown

As this vision of Gloucester’s World War 2 veterans

comes true.

 

Cat of Nine Tails

With open eyes and endless thoughts

I reflect upon the pain in my back

Asking myself why my mind was wrought

Of the whippings for which I did not ask

Each time I felt the stinging pain

I would think of my mother I did not know

Of the loving kindness of my sister

Who in my dreams protected me from each blow

I asked myself back in younger days

Why was I taken away with such haste?

Then I recalled as my loved ones would say

I was lying in my own waste

So dear Lord the sands of time has past

And the scars of my body have healed

Looking back those fifty years passed

The answers of my crying heart have been revealed.

 

 

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