My father was an ordinary lock keeper

On an obscure Midlands canal

It was quite busy at times

And at other times it was rather quiet

My sister used to swim between the locks

That was until she contracted a disease

Which in time slowly crippled her

I also swam in the canal as I grew older

But suffered no adverse or lasting effects

Sarah however took advantage of her immobility

And started writing novels which sold very well

I inherited my fathers job on his forced retirement

And up to the closure of the canal lived his simple life

My sister no longer writes due to her declining eyesight

Edward Barnes Thomas (1963)