Category Archives: Uncategorized

My cousin Ray taught geography He would have well explained The water we call Turlough Now here now quickly drained The limestone rock of Ireland Sixty-five percent! Once a warm and tropical sea I wonder where that went!   But now a Turlough has refused To up and go away The plug now in theContinue reading “Turlough”

At Kynoch Park in the Highland League Far far faraway A man’s been charged with a hate crime Well what can we say?   Far away places are slow to learn How to adapt adjust They don’t see many dark faces It’s just a white man’s crust   So give the chap some leeway HelpContinue reading “Dropping Slow”

He laid my grandson in my arms Just as his mum laid him Here’s your son look after him Not just now but always Your life has changed You’re now a dad It doesn’t get any better Cradle this child and love him Forever and a day Do not let hurt or harm Afflict himContinue reading “A Child In My Arms”

John 4:43-54   The word flies faster than my feet It is home before me now and all is well The power to heal came to my son And I with nowhere else to turn Find my son is cured and so I tell   I asked the man to come but he stayed thereContinue reading “The Very Hour”

My aunty Sarah could not understand Why people went to town to buy their veg She had grown it all her life I saw it in the glen Her vegetable patch to envy even then   She was getting on in years Her vigour slowing down And yet her conversation Would see the sun goContinue reading “Sarah”

I’m waiting for the war to end It can’t go on too long Our modern world is instant send And someone will write a song   And everyone is saying stop Except that little man Who sits alone at Russia’s top Vladimir Putin   And how to talk to enemies That’s a challenge now BeContinue reading “Time”

Look All these years I have slaved for you Never disobeyed your orders You have never given me a thing   Oh how blind are we!   Blessed by God throughout our lives We call ourselves but slaves Doing what we are told we say And nothing to show for it   And what doesContinue reading “Not The Prodigal”

One afternoon, many years ago, my father went into a public house in Tyldesley called ‘The Welcome Traveller’. The locals called the place ‘Skennin’ Bob’s’ as a previous landlord had had problems with his eyes. My father got himself a pint and was sat at the bar when a man came in whose skin wasContinue reading “Skin Deep”

Castle Lacken far away Forlorn and overgrown Grey stone walled perimeter Once a fine fair home Set upon a rise of ground A lookout on the sea And lands galore to comfort you What is your history?   Sherriff of Mayo in your time Landlord of the plain Roger Palmer the fateful lord Cruelty yourContinue reading “Castle Lacken”

The bus home never came So I walked Two bags of shopping Not overloaded but enough I divided the journey home into sections Mentally To give myself a sense of stages done I rested twice on two low walls To take my ease and gather strength To get me home at last after chat withContinue reading “Walking Home”

I have always known that I am loved My mother’s love sustains me to this day My father’s gentle presence gives me strength In life I’ve never known another way   Only when we’re loved can we grow The soil and gentle rain of nourishment Tender plants protected from the cold Blessed by love andContinue reading “I Am Loved”

Marble floor Towering height Basilica of Saint Peter And I no puny mite The building here embraces me Enter be at home Margaret and I on honeymoon Hearts in the heart of Rome   Magnificent the splendour Impressive space in here All the world can enter in Enter without fear This is home for everyoneContinue reading “Ave Maria”

I have never known war or violence. I have lived in these British Isles for seventy-five years and have only known peace. There have been wars all during my lifetime but always somewhere else and far away. Even the ‘Troubles’ of Northern Ireland seemed very far away, though they were just across the sea. ThatContinue reading “Blessed are those who suffer in the cause of right”

In my final year in primary school, between the ages of ten and eleven, I was an altar server at my local parish church for the 7.30am Mass, Monday to Saturday. I was second up in the house, as my father had already gone off to his daily work at the pit. I had aContinue reading “Early Morning Mysteries”

Only those who are in a draught Get up to close the door Those who do not feel it Why should they cross the floor?   Why are we ruled by wealthy men? Millions in the bank Politics protects their interests Better than any tank   The rich man in the parable Surrounded by hisContinue reading “Fair Shares”