Former factory worker from Ely turns published poet
Rodney Bilson - Credit: Archant
A FORMER factory worker from Ely has become a published poet after a piece he wrote about his budgie was picked up by a national publisher.
Rodney Bilson, 73, used to work in a leather factory in Northampton before retiring to the city and turning his hand to poetry.
When his budgie Billie died earlier this year, however, Mr Bilson, of High Barns, was moved to send a poem he wrote in tribute to the bird in to publishing company Forward Poetry.
And, to his delight, he received word not long later that his poem had been selected to appear in an anthology of works entitled In Other Words – A Collection of Poetry.
He said: “I’ve been writing poetry for most of my life but only took it up seriously in the last six or seven years since retiring. I was very pleased to hear that it had been chosen and my wife Olive was delighted.”
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Billie the Bird
Time has come to say goodbye.
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You lived your life with us.
It gave us joy and pleasure to hear you
talk about things to us
and play with us.
Now it is all gone.
We shall not forget you, Billie,
for you are in our hearts.
