Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

Mark 8:27-33   God’s way involves suffering That is very clear What does the good man do When the wicked one draws near? Peter makes it very plain Ready to draw the sword Jesus will not have it Enough to speak the word   Jesus knows his enemies Will eventually draw blood He is aContinue reading “Hard Times”

  ‘I don’t read novels,’ a serious man once said to me, ‘because they are not true.’ The man was a prison officer, a good and upright person, and his words seemed to carry the message that real life was so serious and he had to deal with it every day, that the idea ofContinue reading “The Power Of Story”

Brightly coloured paintings Recalling vivid life The Glasgow of his childhood All laid there That beautiful green place So often grey and grim Is vivid once again Through old Tom’s flair   And I in writing Wish to do the same To paint some pictures All for you to share Just to show things asContinue reading “Painting”

Nicola has resigned And done it well Too long at the top Doesn’t sit so well You turn into a target Many will take aim Better to go while good and fit Don’t want to be called lame   Another Nicola Haunts our thoughts today Lost by the River Wyre Drowned so many say KidsContinue reading “Nicola”

People don’t forget a devastation The hurt it caused The human tragedy It lives on in our folklore Our children know the tale The water came and swept us up And carried all away   Back in old Glencullen I heard the story told About a cruel landslide That killed cattle in a fold ThatContinue reading “In Noah’s Day”

I remember Adlestrop the place I went there in the summer of sixty-four Thomas went before he went to France Before the shell that killed him That left no trace Not a mark upon him The shock wave took his life   For me day off day out before exams I got top marks inContinue reading “Day Out”

You can’t go back The past isn’t where you left it You’ve changed you’ve gone ahead And so have they They changed the road Built houses on a field And you’ve grown old Old and very grey   Photos in an album yesterday I didn’t want to look Not look that way For some haveContinue reading “Day By Day”

Water comes from a tap My food comes from a shop Heating warms my house A roof I have on top   My mother’s home was simpler Water came from a river Food came from the garden Turf fire solved the shiver   But in Turkey and in Syria All has been destroyed Water foodContinue reading “Basics”

Matthew 5:17-37   I heard it said today This world is a place that permits everything And forgives nothing I recognise that place We have done away with all taboos and rules Let folk do what they want Even be fools But if they cross a line Then damned they’ll be The one leads toContinue reading “But I Say This To You”

Isolation is the killer So always stay in touch For human touch is tenderness It can do so much   A handshake is a human touch Bringing friendship warm A mother’s embrace for her baby Protects from all alarm   The human word is spoken To join your life to mine Letter phone or evenContinue reading “Human Touch”

Earthquakes do not kill people Buildings do The Turkish lady said And clearly that is true If foundations cannot hold When the ground is shaken What a fall there will be then So many lives then taken   The physical destruction So plain for us to see The tragic loss of life The utter miseryContinue reading “Human Wreckage”

Lourdes is a little bit of heaven On this earth Dramatic mountains Pyrenees The flowing River Gave Fine hotels and lovely food They’re French expect no less And crowds of people everywhere Souvenirs and memorabilia And Mass and prayers and daily benediction Torchlight processions Catholic delection And holy water everywhere In taps and bottles YesContinue reading “Some Place”

Mark 7:31-37   It is always personal Contact with the Lord If you want healing Don’t stay in a crowd Jesus and the deaf man Find a quiet spot His ears his tongue are loosened ‘Ephphatha’ breaks the knot   I am getting deaf these days Hearing aids are mine And as for speech impedimentContinue reading “Hear Say”

It’s the physical force view of life I’ll come and sort you out Cut out all your nonsense Or I will make you shout ‘He stands up for me, Lee’ A right wing overture Bring back the death penalty Sort them out for sure   It appeals to right wing voters The common sense brigadeContinue reading “Sort It”

Mark 7:24-30   It’s the kind of thing that Sarah would have said That line about the housedogs and the scraps The Syrophoenician woman Desperate for her daughter Would take whatever scraps the master gave   My mother’s sister Sarah The youngest of her clan Was given the gift of speech Better than any manContinue reading “A Persuasive Lady”