When I was a boy
The cotton mill loomed large
Above the town
And Ward and Goldstone’s factory
At the bottom of Shakerley Road
And coalmines by the dozen
Were dotted here and there
And coal-fired steam engines
Ploughed through the dusty air
And men went into Paddy’s Hump
To play a game of cards
Or darts or even billiards and snooker
A bowling green outside
For when the weather was warm
And cigarettes were everywhere
And the smokers’ cough alarm
And Vimto from the Temperance Bar
After Sunday mass
A quarter pound of toffees he brought home
My father’s land
Son of an Irishman
His mother a Tyldesley girl and grand
All swept away
Those ways and those times
Modern world these days
Free of grime
But not free of sorrow
More’s the shame
And on this Christmas Eve
We face our share of ills
As they faced theirs
And the same is asked of us
As was of them
Be faithful in the little things
That’s all I ask of you
Brian Fahy
24 December 2022
Erris Poetry 