When my mind couldn’t say
What I wanted to say
My body said it for me
My son was born
We struggled on
Not knowing if we could be
My inner self
Was torn in two
I retreated from the fray
Doing what I always do
Thinking but just don’t say
My love of God
My sense of self
My public honour too
My history
The road I came
What now am I to do?
The OPC were coming up
I started painting walls
Avoidance now the tactic
My engine now had stalled
I needed confrontation
Speak your truth
Come out
Let the simple truths of life
At last at last play out
The moment like a curtain draw
The stress all fell away
And I was free at last to walk
Into a bright new day
Brian Fahy
10 June 2021
Erris Poetry 