Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

This No ‘bad moon rising’ A brilliant blotch of white above a sea And below Furrowed fingers of a field Earth brown traces Ploughing for potatoes A tree bent double Fiercely forced to yield   My cousin’s painting Memory he cherishes Childhood days spent in a summer glen We never saw the woes and wildsContinue reading “Into The Blue”

Salutary warnings Racism alive and well Five men condemned in Tiger Bay Five men condemned to hell And Stephen Lawrence A TV show Puts before our eyes How easily we do it How easily despise   Strangers on ‘our manor’ What they doing here! Clear them off and get them out Don’t let them nowhereContinue reading “No Man Is An Island”

Sitting snug on my settee A documentary film I chose The Everly Brothers Don and Phil My youthful days expose The yearnings of my teenage heart That happy harmony The dreams of girls but where to start ‘cause I’m in seminary   That whole caboodle closed to me Strong message from the Church Dream isContinue reading “Dreams Of Youth”

There’s a steady drizzle falling A magpie on that roof He doesn’t care for rain I’d say He hops from hoof to hoof   And now he tries a clever trick Clinging to the wall Underneath the roof and eaves Avoiding all rainfall   But clinging can’t last very long On the roof again ButContinue reading “Steady Drizzle”

Sometimes we feel as good as dead Staring at the wall The spirit’s gone – dull in my head We have reached the end of all No future do we see ahead No energy inside Sitting all alone in dread Better if we died   Jesus met the funeral bier Coming along the road ThenContinue reading “Loss And Gain”

  A spread of hills the Ochils my horizon A thousand feet they rise up to the sky At their feet are villages the Hillfoots And beside them the River Forth flows by   To my left a strangely pointed tower Cabinet for a Claymore so well kent Climb to the top to view surroundingsContinue reading “Out For My Walk”

Two programmes I saw recently About murder and the killer One set in South Wales In Tiger Bay The other was in Sweden Two murders linked as one It took some time to find the man Meticulous search was done   In Cardiff they were not so slow But quick to call the tune DespiteContinue reading “Honest To God”

When you speak It is your spirit you impart Something of your self you give the world Your breath your tongue gives out the sound It’s tone and temper seeking ground In which to plant the word you give the world   The centurion of Capernaum Knew the power of words He used them toContinue reading “Say But The Word”

  I am a child again With grandchildren I have to play their games Filling balloons with water So they can burst And jumping on the bed of course My bed their trampoline And giving them chocolate buttons That’s a must   They give me hugs and kisses When they leave me Wave to meContinue reading “Bursting Balloons”

Time I were dee-ing My mother said Talking to our Michael She had parted with the last of her teeth Such the human cycle And age and weariness had come Her energy departing And sitting there in Westport town It is hard to put your heart in   But heart she had in spades WeContinue reading “We’ll Meet Again”

  ‘This must not happen to you’ So Peter said Sword at hand he’d be ready for the fray Cut off a servant’s ear Fight to save his Lord In Gethsemane The night he was betrayed   Chamberlain and Hitler in their day It could have gone Another different way Like Jesus in Gethsemane StandContinue reading “Peter Said To Jesus”

Keep your body fit and well Exercise and walk Football tennis any sport You have to walk the talk Daily life needs energy Make sure you get your sleep And rest yourself for life’s demands Or they will make you weep   And most of all look to your mind Your heart your spirit deepContinue reading “Body and Soul”

It’s a football match That’s all it is But it’s the final for the Sam! It’s a tennis match That’s all it is But it’s the final a Grand Slam!   Such simple things Such great import So testing for the nerve Will Mayo score and get the points? Will Emma really serve?   TooContinue reading “Only A Game”

England has a governing class It’s always been that way With the occasional aberration When Labour had its day The people knew who Churchill was They told him ‘toodle-oo’ But good old Clem had the hardest job And he got kicked out too   And back they came the Tory boys Back to rule theContinue reading “England Their England”

Friends of mine, the Murphys Were in New York that time The day before had seen them in that tower September 10 they stood aloft Atop the World Trade Centre And viewed the world around them From the height   How close to that catastrophe But they came home to live And spend their daysContinue reading “September 11”