They made promises to each other
And they kept them
Almost strangers wed in Manchester
She in Metro Vickers
He from desert sands
Off next day for Normandy
Widow-making lands
Strangers reunited
Married life begins
Honeymoon in Ireland
Dad back down the mines
Wasn’t always easy
Sickness and in health
Four children was their story
That was their true wealth
Now they are our memories
Our roots our family tree
Their spirit and their stories
Our sustenance so free
They are the ground we come from
Their counsel living still
They made each other promises
I do love you I will
Brian Fahy
19 January 2022
+ We make promises with the best of intentions. They don’t always work out that way. That doesn’t make us failures. Some things are beyond our control. We remain people who want to make promises and to live by them. We promise ourselves to live good and upright lives in the midst of our troubled world. Our very life is a promise. Let us keep our heart and mind and soul fixed on the promise of our lives. You are not a spent force.
My parents’ marriage is remembered in this poem. Their story could easily have fractured at some point. Happily they came through their trials and were together for 44 years.
Brian Fahy.
Erris Poetry 