Category Archives: Uncategorized

Through hours of darkness They journey home to me Over the deep Atlantic blue Over that deep blue sea A mighty airplane brings them home Two little boys so young They cross the mighty ocean Columbus took so long   I too crossed an ocean As a little boy Annual trip to Ireland Holyhead myContinue reading “Landed 7am”

He was going to put the world to rights His world The way he saw it He’d studied scripture knew tradition The upstarts won’t redraw it And so he took Damascus Road Warrants in his hand Arrest and persecute them all Their movement will not stand   We put the world to rights We doContinue reading “Damascus Road”

Two faces smile at me Side by side Dorothy one hundred years Evie only nine Great grandma and great grandchild Smash the years between And Alwyn on the sideboard framed Looking on serene   The years have run for Dorothy A century all told A lovely gentle Yorkshire girl Safe now from the cold AndContinue reading “Girls Together”

White loaves and black burnt crust Delight of childhood days The origins of bread Go back in history’s haze Soda bread in Ireland French stick later on So many breads to choose from now To base our life upon   It is the very staff of life We need that daily crust Basic to ourContinue reading “Daily Bread”

The bins go out tonight And so I stepped outside My neighbour Gerry had the same idea We always say hello And compare notes as we go And so we held our summit there outside   We discussed the dismal nature of the news The suffering of children left confused And the nature of dictatorsContinue reading “A Local Summit”

A hundred bodies floating in the sea The sea too rough for rescue Inishkea Some make it to the shore Received most reverently Lost at sea The Arandora Star   The man who sank that ship Gunther Prien Also died at sea Off Ireland’s coast Depth charged to his doom Death comes far too soonContinue reading “Known Unto God”

Children grown and flown Mum and Dad together Final years She tends to her garden Vegetables and flowers He tends to his horses Studies them for hours   A quiet bungalow Happy days Mum on kitchen guard duty Dad a window gaze No doubt they talked betimes And reminisced No doubt a gentle smile AContinue reading “The Old Folk”

We drove into the mountains Southern Italy Driving in we were driving back Into history   The simple ways of peasant life Goat herds mountain streams Heading for a monastery And a land of dreams   Earthquake region Shaken lives Shaken buildings too Redemptorist community Come in how do you do   Southern Italian easinessContinue reading “A Place Apart”

Celtic – Rangers Is an ancient feud It brings together green and blue Catholic Protestant Irish Scot All in a Glasgow stew   I’ve witnessed a bit of it Been insulted in my time Had vicious faces turned to me The hate is like a crime   Poverty was the source of it And famineContinue reading “Ancient Hatreds”

What can you do? Witness to the truth Or just go back to Galilee and die? He let himself be taken for a sinner He did not resist their cruel blows Nor their taunts and jibes He walked the road to Calvary And there was crucified   Stephen in his turn Would pay the priceContinue reading “Navalny”

To believe Is not a holy notion in your head But to commit your self To all that he has said   To give your life to goodness Justice truth To love your neighbour Avoid what is uncouth   To set your self On the given road Do not give up Despite the heavy loadContinue reading “Holy Grail”

We stand accused – bread and circuses Jesus tells the crowds he meets today You’re only here because you saw the signs And because I gave you bread you love to eat   Juvenal it is the Roman poet Who wrote the line that I quote today A critic of his time and generation WorthContinue reading “Jesus and Juvenal”

War films can be good to watch The action and the drama Some make very good history The Longest Day And some are even funny Remember Kelly’s Heroes? And some are pure make believe Where Eagles Dare   But war is futile brutal And today is called ‘absurd’ For modern day technology Makes real what onceContinue reading “Theatre of the Absurd”

I remember my father loved a glass of beer Most miners do That gritty throat and all that dust Beer refreshes you So real ale was his tipple And I enjoy it too So when I do my shopping It’s nice to get a brew   I heard a fellow one time He was Jehovah’sContinue reading “Wine to Cheer the Heart”

He stood beside a charcoal fire He stood and he denied And then the cock began to crow And Peter then he cried   The smell of charcoal stayed on him Lingered on his clothes He could no way get rid of it And so his sorrow grows   And then the Easter Day surpriseContinue reading “A Charcoal Fire”