Feeling all alone when Margaret died
Michael now with Holly
And in Florida on holiday
I felt all connections broken
What to do
Why not go back to Ireland
Land of all my dreams
Two sisters there
A pleasant town
I could settle so it seemed
Waiting for a train on Stirling station
Got talking to a lady about these plans
Go for just six months
She said to me
See how you like it
That will help you see
As it was I knew when I had landed
I am a stranger here
A visitor
That’s how I enjoy it
It isn’t meant to be
Any more than a happy holiday
Meanwhile in America my son
Had got my text
Announcing my new dream
It really knocked him sideways
What’s this all about!
When he returned we’d sort the matter out
By then of course my madness had subsided
A calmer person met him when he came
And I apologised for even sending him a text
Upsetting him like that on holiday
The years have passed they’re married now
And children
Two lovely boys have come to badger me
They fill my life with loveliness
I watch them as they grow
To think of what I would have missed
Had I resolved to go
The man who thought of leaving
Was a lonely man indeed
An isolated individual
And that is not a healthy way for anyone to be
Our life is our relationships
Others help us see
My son and now my grandsons
Have given me full life
And belonging is the only way to be
Don’t run away from feelings
Face them if you can
Be patient in the darkness
The sun will rise again
Brian Fahy
19 March 2022
Erris Poetry 