Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

September season Children back at school A shift of gear Days are getting cool Got new glasses To Oxfam paperbacks Packed old clothes for charity Share with those who lack   A permit for my garden waste Arrived today by post The council will uplift for me A tidy town our boast I do notContinue reading “Tidy Town”

Today my brother, Michael, is visiting the Blasket Islands off the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry. It brought back to my mind a tape recording I had many years ago from RTE of an interview with men who had lived on the Inish Ge Islands, off the Mullet peninsula, near Belmullet, County Mayo. I canContinue reading “On Blasket and Inish Ge.”

Last night I saw Cassino bombed again Bombed and blasted Obliterated gone Pulverised and pounded Smashed to smithereens A head-on clash The Ally and the Hun   The monastery was built again Beautiful to see High up on a hill It sits serene But the men who fought to capture her Lie dead around herContinue reading “Cassino Revisited”

Luke 5:1-3   It’s good to see whom you’re talking to And good that they see you We call it human interface An engagement so true As I see you you’re seeing me We see and are being seen Encounter is the name we give We’re not looking at a screen   Living awareness estimationContinue reading “Close To Shore”

  I have done with going to Mass And going to the pictures Roles are reversed Now they come to me Computer screen A button’s touch A film at my command And daily mass an item From anywhere in the land   In childhood days The Church sent out the call And holy Romans WeContinue reading “How It Was”

My brother’s on the west coast of Ireland A message sent So lovely to be there It’s in our genes Our family line The place where we belong Atlantic breezes Good fresh Irish air   Edge of the world Demarcation line Here is life There the endless brine Looking westward Sinking setting sun Rolling breakersContinue reading “Western Approaches”

Armed men came in the dead of night To arrest the Nazarene Swords and clubs and lantern light Undercover don’t be seen   Surprise and stealth the method now No more light of day We warned him once a holy vow Prophet go away   Jesus stands in open ground And faces down his foeContinue reading “Guileless in Gethsemane”

I’m not a great one for navel gazing Said George Walker Bush I’m an action man The words he chose to say Action sounds so sensible So ‘let’s get up and go’ The other seems so woebegone And weak   But navel gazing is a put you down For the hard work of thought ItContinue reading “Action Man”

More people died in Leningrad Than the whole of the British And American war dead of World War Two Russian suffering has been immense Russians suffered from Stalin and his dictatorship From the cruel and heartless communist system And from the German invasion Russians were cruelly treated And their soldiers behaved cruelly in return ViciousnessContinue reading “Mother Russia”

The bee’s knees Was Jesus in Capernaum The people knew it Genuine article Sabbath congregation Well used to oratory They knew the real from fake Particularly   Hitler when in Nuremburg Fulminating Fuhrer Worked the crowd To heights of fighting force Appealing to their pride A nation once again He filled the world with hatredContinue reading “The Holy One”

Disciples of Jesus ‘Sons of thunder’ Wanted to call down fire To consume a Samaritan village For its hostility But Jesus rebuked their ire And led them on elsewhere Unleashing anger Has no utility   You do not know He told them The spirit now in you Dangerous fuel Do not set alight For onceContinue reading “Consuming Fire”

We discovered a park we never knew Yesterday with the grandsons Only a mile away but yet unknown Sun was shining people out Swings and climbing frames Cycle track for Lukie’s bike And the afternoon had flown   So near and yet we never knew How common a thing is that Like people who areContinue reading “Park And Ride”

The Madonna Un-tier of knots A devotion of Pope Francis When perplexed Unravelling our story Saying it out loud Calms the mind and soul Lifts the cloud   Evil Says Carl Jung Happens in our world When people are not able To tell their stories A psychiatrist in Broadmoor Deals with violent men Unravelling theContinue reading “Untying The Knots”

Morning rolls and bacon Milk and orange juice Lindt mint chocolate just to make me smile Two bottles of Thatchers Cider Sorry about the name A tasty tipple worth the walk and while   Sunny Saturday morning Stirling suburb still Get those legs a-moving while you can A quiet day ahead of me Football onContinue reading “Returning From The Coop”

My brother heads for Ireland soon Cork and Kerry way With two old pals for company A ten-day holiday   The English Market will be seen Before they heard out west And take in the town of Cahirciveen Then Ballyferriter their nest   And a trip to the Blasket Island Of ‘Twenty Years a Growing’Continue reading “Cahirciveen”