Granddad came home to his house
To find no place to sit down
All the spaces were taken
(Relations and neighbours from’t street)
My granddad pretended to frown
Well this is a fine how-d’you-do
I think I’ll live in your house
They got up to give him his place
He wasn’t a person to grouse
In fact he was known to bring folk
To sleep in his house for a while
Young lads over from Ireland
He’s met in the pub just his style
And where am I going to put these folk!
My grandma said with a moan
We’ll manage my granddad replied
They did – it was that kind of home
When we’ve got nowt we all share
It’s the least we’re expected to do
But when we go up in the world
Our neighbours are kept out of view
Riches can make us quite greedy
You think it would be t’other way
We need to be near to the needy
Then we won’t look t’other way
Brian Fahy
14 January 2022
Erris Poetry 