City of Aachen November ‘44
Reconstruction placed now in his hands
Architect Hans Swippert
Stands upon the floor
‘The dignity of labour’
This he must restore
Forced workers and slave labour
This has been the creed
Work the people
Work them till they cry
Keep them at the coalface
Lash them when they slack
‘Arbeit macht frei’
And then you die
The cotton mills of Lancashire
The coalmines of my youth
Not for me no way my father said
He knew the darkness of the mine
He’d lived through warfare’s awful time
For you my son there comes a better day
I had the privilege of priest
An honourable task
To preach the gospel
Mediator too
There is dignity in human work
Whatever work you do
My father was a miner
And a gentleman I knew
Brian Fahy
16 September 2021
Erris Poetry 