Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

In later yearsWe stayed in Sarah’s houseFull board and lodgingEntertainment Boxty on demandPolitics discussedThe singing of the SongGlencullensideDebates like the Oxford UnionComical asidesA running commentaryOn the world’s affairs Sarah knew a thing or twoAnd what she didn’t knowShe’d get by strong enquiry you seeConversation was her educationAnd she was educated to a high degree NoContinue reading “Sarah”

There is a tide in the affairs of menWhich taken at the flood leads on to fortuneHow true it isFor I see this very dayA plank of wood washed up in Porlock BayIt bears the name of one John BannisterA citizen of Worcester he one timeBut Porlock is in SomersetA hundred miles awayWhat’s a plankContinue reading “Beach Boy”

He was a rare one, JohnNot run of the millGood ordinary funnyDeeply reflectiveAnd have another Always supported meKept me goingNever asked to knowJust let you knowThat life is goodAnd life can be hardBut no one told youTo support Bolton Wanderers You were well matchedWho else could match our Maureen!He knew about lifeAnd lived a goodContinue reading “John Keeley”

Sacred Heart Church A rubble sandstone churchA listed buildingBuilt by Edmund Kirby, LiverpoolStained glass by MayerGermanySits on Tyldesley RoadNow unused Centre of a thrivingIrish parishImmigrants for coalminesAnd for millsSchool beside itChildren happy playingNow exposed to winterAnd its chills Parish houseAlso rubble sandstoneA cosy home for meOne summer timeHome from RomeI guarded the estateEven thenA parishContinue reading “Sacred Heart Church”

There are no skyscrapers hereI said to Uncle HughWe stood outside his houseOne summer’s nightWe looked around the valleyAs quiet as could beA pleasant eveningAnd a peaceful sight All his life Hugh lived hereIn this glenHe worked its soilAnd reared a familyNot for himThe mills and mines of LancashireOr the choices that AmericaMight be IContinue reading “High Rise in Glencullen”

Silence is the setting for our thinkingA seedbed for the word of God to growA reception room to welcome any guestA quiet chamber where I come to know How quiet and how peaceful is the worldWhen I unplug all my technologyThe silence of the street in early morningThe whisper of the wind through every treeContinue reading “Silentia”

1950 Holy YearOn our way to KnockA bus from BangorExcursion for the dayStopped at BallymunnellyMass first to attendSunday obligationIn those days Pat was only two years oldBut learning very fastBells she knewWhen Johnny Orsi cameSelling lots of ice creamCones and wafers allAnd 99s for those who cared to buy Hushed for consecrationPeople bowed their headsNotContinue reading “The Bell At Ballymunnelly”

My cousin Tommy had my blazer onThe jacket that I always wore to schoolI had a new one wearing out the oldThe old one went to Tommy that’s the rule We sent our clothes to IrelandFor our cousinsAnd they sent hens and chickensChristmas timeThis was Mayo Meitheal at its finestSolidarity with everyone in line WeContinue reading “The Jacket(For Tommy)”

O Sacred Heart I played football for the Sacred Heart of JesusRed and yellow jerseys what we woreSchool blazers red with yellow embroideryColours of the warmth and love it bore My school and church in Hindsford LancashireWere dedicated to the Heart by nameAnd the church in Bangor Erris when I went thereBeside the Owenmore isContinue reading “O Sacred Heart”

I have never read Jane AustenDon’t know whyIs it a world I can’t identify?Whatever be the causeI do admitShe makes good TVAnd I’ve seen it The little that I knowReveals a girlWho grew in wisdomThrough her social whirlShe knew the wayward wanderingsOf the heartHer judgements shrewdAnd so set her apart I knew her houseI satContinue reading “At Chawton”

Never reinforce a negativeSandra said to meAdding darknessTo the encircling gloomWhat darkness needs is candlelightA lantern for the wayOr else we’ll never exit from this room Mediation makes the mostOf positivityOur language creates the world we seeOur negatives diminish usThey worry and they woundWhat we need is newfound energy At first I thought this dubiousAreContinue reading “Mediator Training”

Ireland was green till BallinaAnd green to Crossmolina I supposeThe road of rhododendron I rememberAs our stagecoach headed westGod only knows For then we came in contactWith the moorlandThe blanket bog that stretches to the seaAnd like a lonely ship crossing an oceanWe looked on land as bleak as bleak could be Like frontier folkContinue reading “Blanket Bog”

A cold north wind and hailstonesAnd this the month of MayThe weather and the times are out of jointMy cousin Raymond died todayAt last, for him some peaceHe weathered many a stormUp to this point His faith was very deep and strongHis love of God intenseI think his very suffering hollowed himThe secret sorrows weContinue reading “Cousin Raymond”

They found a wooden wheelAt Must Farm in the FensA village from three thousand years agoPreserved in silt and waterAn ancient world revealedRevolving powerTake me to your door Our wheels today are madnessThe wheels upon the roadWe drive our cars at speedsToo reckless farCocooned in music boxesBlaring noise and soundWe show for other users notContinue reading “The Blessed Motorcar”

Igloo-likeA round house made of sodsA home for hensAt the setting of the sunI thought it looked so cosyWarm insideTo sleep in thereI thought would be such fun I didn’t know of foxes thenA childNor their wicked waysWhen night had comeBurying through the wallsTo get at feathersPredator and preyHow this world runs And I eatContinue reading “The Hen House”