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Classics teacher EtonIn retirementTranslated Harry PotterInto LatinUsing skillsHe used his whole life longWay to goKeeps the person young Margaret in her illnessWorked at cross stitchOccupied her handsAnd mind the whileKept her in the swim of thingsThough groundedI see her work beside meAnd I smile Daddy in old ageStudied the horsesRacing page in handHe knew theContinue reading “Do What You Do Do Well”

Women are the casualties of warThey live onWhen their loved ones dieThey live onBearing now the scarSilently they grieve and silent cry Two photos in a houseOne time I sawOne a husband one a loving sonFirst War took her spouse awaySecond took her sonWounded twice and left there on her own Margaret TrumbleKnew the priceContinue reading “Casualty”

Moore Hall by Lough CarraEmpty shellBurnt by rebel forcesWhat the hell!Beautiful proportionsGeorgian styleRear walled gardenFine country pile Not too big not too grandA homeLovely roomsA library full of tomesSet on fireThe country all in flameThe front resistedProud of its own name George HenryDecent landlordFamine timeWon money when his horseAt Chester wonHe bought grain to feedContinue reading “The House On Muckloon Hill”

‘In multiloquioNon deerit pecccatum’Old Testament adviceHeed it well‘If you talk a lotYou’ll say something you shouldn’t’That’s my translationDid Latin – can’t you tell! Alphonsus liked to quoteTo his companionsThis adageTo keep their tongues in checkHe wrote enough himselfMind you, but talkingHe was careful thenNot to over step One time a fewDisgruntled folkWrote complainingTelling higher upsContinue reading “When You Say Nothing At All”

My uncle TommyWas not known for exertionA lovely gentle manWith kindly eyesThe image of my grandmotherI thought himEldest of the familyNo disguise He worked down the pitAll his lifeMaybe missed a MondayNow and thenHis wife was Aunty LilyShe a good’unWarm as sunshineComfort in the rain Now Tommy wasn’tBy any meansA gardenerContent to seeGrass grow justContinue reading “Uncle Tommy”

Did you know that WittgensteinLived in Connemara?At Rosroe, next to KillaryFor quietHis name enoughTo put me off pursuingA study of the manOr what he thought Did you knowThat Killary is a fjord?That Mayo GalwayMeet here at Leenane?The water hereIts depth of 45 metres‘The Shallow Seabed’The meaning of the name It’s a stunning place to seeThisContinue reading “Where Galway Kisses Mayo”

You stood at mammy’s graveA long, long timeI went up the riseA better viewTo see beyond the cemetery wallTo see the seaClew Bay and all I knew Blue it was that dayThe sea the skyThe mountainLooking down across the bayAnd Clare Island out at seaWe went there onceYou and meAnd mammy cameLook my new familyContinue reading “Aughval”

A Poet It’s good to readAnd if you’re in a bookLike being in bedYou snuggle upDon’t leaveA novel or a thrillerA classic if you willCome the endCome the time to grieve But some folk find it hardTo even startA page of printGives themA change of heartSo why not try a poemIt’s easier to get goingAndContinue reading “A Poet”

I make soda bread at homeKeeps me happyA recipe my mother handed downTo my brother and my nephewFirst of allMy nephew then made soda breadFor the Crown! Nephew John was workingAt the PalaceSandringham, BalmoralSaw him too,And Windsor don’t forgetGot the video yetOf the dinner that the QueenGave Jacques Chirac John made soda breadFor the queenSheContinue reading “Drop Of Cold Tea”

The Stately Home Of England Andy BurnhamPuts it in a nutshellThe way that England rulesThe whole UKLondon-centricMale-dominatedElite-drivenCouldn’t put betterI have to say I’ve always hadA difficulty with EnglandBecause of Irish bloodI supposeBut alsoNorthern originsAre workingAnd classAnother thingGets up my nose The geography is lovelyIn its regionsThe people tooI like I can’t complainBut the hoity-toityMonied folkInContinue reading “The Stately Home Of England”

I dreamed I dreamedOf coming home to EnglandTwo years in RomeAnd studying the gameThe sun was always shiningIn that cityI dreamed of foggy morningsAnd of rain The last six monthsI couldn’t bear the waitingA bookshop by the Spanish StepsAllowedBooks by Thomas HardyI was readingMayor of CasterbridgeFar From The Madding Crowd I dreamt of sittingForecastleOn theContinue reading “In Dreams”

Saint Paul today takes leaveOf the EphesiansYou will never see my face againHe saysI have toiled amongst you honestlyHe tells themMy conscience clearThe road ahead I dread Ephesians criedOn hearing this sad storyThe troubles of this worldAre hard to bearBut never to see his faceAgain destroyed themThis life this lifeSo often so unfair I thoughtContinue reading “American Wake”

When his mother diedHis whole life changedNothing ever moreWould cause him painHe’d lost the dearest oneHe’d ever knownLife would never be the same again Whatever troublesIn the future layHe’d deal with themJust part of his in trayThe hardest thing to faceThat pain of heartHad given him a strengthA brand new start My father tooCame homeContinue reading “Whatever Life Brings”

Homes under the HammerGets my attentionTo see old housesTransformed into newYou wouldn’t believeThe changes that come overA rotten dwellingHorrible to view The satisfactionLiesIn transformationNeglected housesHomes that time forgotVisions of the newWhere once existedNothing butA damp and dismal cot This changing of a sceneRecalls IsaiahWho told of peopleMade whole again in GodWho build up ancient ruinsBuildContinue reading “Restorer Of Ruined Houses”

A night I spentNocera dei PaganiHoly houseOf Sant’ Alfonso’s timeDark of nightAssembled inA common roomTV onOld men sat in line Italian languageFilled the airThat eveningItalian filmSo powerful to seeLa Notte di San LorenzoWas the screeningMemories of warAnd treachery 10th of AugustNight of shooting starsMake a wishDreams may well come trueFascists Germans AmericansAre fightingMake a wishMayContinue reading “San Lorenzo”