Jim Broadbent’s voice cries out
In that Margaret Thatcher film
As Maggie watches old newsreels
Of holidays with the children
‘You can rewind it
But you can’t change it,’ cries Jim
As Maggie’s viewing longingly hopes
To compensate for her lack of motherly ways
And I smile as I remember
All my Hawkstone days
And all my days in priestly ways
When I felt quite undone
Unfulfilled unfound
You can rewind it
But you can’t change it
I’m afraid
And maybe it’s the same for everyone
For life is never smooth
We try to make our way
Then something happens
We fall foul
Call foul but have to play the game
We are trying to make our way
But sunny day has turned to mist and fog
How did it come to this?
You can rewind it
But you can’t change it
Mary and Elizabeth
Two expectant mums
Their children will die both violent death
The promise of a baby
The care over a child
The youth the adult in a world so wild
The mother at the crib
The mother at the cross
You can rewind it
But you can’t change it
That’s the gain and loss
But we’re still here
That’s the other thing
Here and now today
It’s mine to sing
The song of life
It’s joy its tragedy
Its resurrection
That will do for me
Brian Fahy
19 December 2021
Erris Poetry 