Category Archives: Uncategorized

What did World War Two achieve? The death of millions Millions left to grieve Blood on desert sand Germany’s last stand Britain’s victory Who do you deceive?   War in Vietnam – what goes on there? Body bags come home US Air Proxy wars around the globe US wears the victor’s robe Now another warContinue reading “Mediate”

  I remember the Coronation of the Queen I a child in school in ‘53 I learned about the Empire And the Union Jack And then about the war Thank God my dad came back   I heard about the colonies And the Commonwealth How England was a mighty power And yes the National HealthContinue reading “A Little History”

The Gospels are at pains to tell the story The Passion – the climax of his life All the details are gathered there From supper table and anxious air To Calvary the tomb the end of strife   This week we re-enact the tension building The planning of his foes his quiet days The conflictsContinue reading “The Passion”

Re-enact the scene Make it vivid now The Master on the donkey Palms strewn anyhow Shouts of acclamation See the saviour come Greater than any conqueror Humbly to his home   Now look at Ukraine Blasted from the earth Rocket fire and human blood Is this what we are worth? The solution is to killContinue reading “Palm Sunday”

He lost all his family In the Holocaust Parents siblings cousins Everyone was lost Murdered by the Germans Nazi hating Jew Jan was left with nothing What was he to do?   He fought for home and country Charged a machine gun nest On the German border Medal on his chest Changed his name foundContinue reading “Jan Hoch”

Forthcoming events cast their shadows before them. We cannot help but be affected by whatever is coming down the road to meet us. Christmas holidays, summer holidays, weddings cause us to think ahead and feel the excitement of their arrival. More sombre issues like hospital or operations or a prognosis of our final days bringsContinue reading “Shadowlands”

Ireland of my childhood Was a land of yesterday Where my mammy came from Where we spent holiday   Where people left in thousands And never did come home Where songs of lonesomeness were sung Where Tom Mac wrote the poem   A place of moor and mountain West coast wilderness Of boxty and potatoesContinue reading “Bygone Days”

Manulla Junction A platform in a field A transfer point for passengers Here the train will yield But only for a moment Step down then off again To Castlebar and Westport town Here comes the Dublin train   And those left on the platform Will cross a step or two And join the local carriageContinue reading “Manulla Junction”

When my son, Michael, was born, I was four hundred miles away in the south of England. Four days later I drove those miles and arrived at the hospital for visiting time in the evening. When I entered the room, Margaret got out of bed and greeted me and told me to sit down onContinue reading “Into My Arms”

He reads out reams of words But he never looks up once He does not look into my face at all The camera cannot catch his eye There is no light of truth to spy His words like guns Rumbling on and on   Body language gives the game away Says far more than uselessContinue reading “Body Language Tells The Truth”

When the war was over my father did not want to know any more about it. He wanted to get on with the business of living. He loved life. He loved being alive. He returned to England and went back down the pit and earned money to support his growing family of four children. HeContinue reading “A Chance Meeting”

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war! I thought that war was over more or less My dad had fought and called it all a mess And I have lived without that fear or fuss All my life no trouble no distress   There have been wars but always far away Korea VietnamContinue reading “Rumblings”

The smell of baking bread is in the air So easy now for me to make a loaf Soda bread or bread maker I alternate my fare But daily bread is mine No problem there   A little boy in Kyiv he hides his bread Doesn’t want to starve like yesterday When war broke outContinue reading “Bread”

People don’t behave in war They never have License to kill is what they have And so they do and so much more   And so we find dead bodies Stories of rape emerge There’ll be torture of some victims War is just a scourge   We put soldiers under pressure Go and fight forContinue reading “War Correspondence”

John 8:1-11   It is a wonderful story – the woman caught in adultery and brought before Jesus. It is a perfect binary and puts Jesus right in the middle of the trap. Release her and show disregard for the Law and for the moral ordering of society. Condemn her to death by stoning andContinue reading “Caught in a Trap”