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I loved a pint of beer in the evening And someone at a table by my side To sit and talk and sip awhile And let the evening shade Settle down around us now My feelings to beguile   There was no woman in my life To charm and comfort me Only the quiet monasteryContinue reading “A Goodly Brew”

Authorities in the Temple Who do you think you are! Who gave you permission? To act just like some star   We are the authority We give out the Law Who are you to come in here? Giving it jaw jaw!   I’ll ask you a question The Baptist – right or wrong? The peopleContinue reading “Genuine Article”

  A simple film reveals to me Our basic human drives The forces that often govern us In the way we live our lives   L’Ultimo Paradiso Set in Italy Apulia’s deep southern toe Beautiful poverty   Power and greed rule the roost Respect and honour too Vendetta when a wrong is done What’s doneContinue reading “How To Live”

My grandmother was baptised ‘Biddy Carey’ Not Bridget now but Biddy written down The ancient book of entries 1876 Gives Peter Carey Mary Gaughan And Biddy newly born   And in that year a local priest was banned Suspended from his duties in that land His name was Joseph Foy aged 35 And given toContinue reading “Biddy”

  I watch my grandsons at their play The world is there contained And the Gospel of this Advent day Is in their play explained   Lucas, four, and Noah, two Need to learn to share To be honest in the things they do To play and to be fair   And Lucas being older,Continue reading “What To Do”

The sky was grey today all day An unrelenting gloom Wake up time was black as night No light came in my room   Our daily news is dark and drear The government the plague Tornadoes in America PM sounding vague   But come tomorrow sky turns bright The ever welcome blue The sky toContinue reading “Lift The Sky”

C-a-t cat My mother said to me Was all that my grandmother learned at school Born in 1876 When school was only starting Did she only go one day? I can’t remember   But today I see A lady Kuttiyama Of Kerala in India learns to read 104 years old she is Nine months ofContinue reading “Words And Voices”

I was a catholic boy In a protestant town Of Irish family Living on English ground   Interesting perspective From the very start Questions of allegiance Questions of the heart   Antipathies lay dormant Peace was all I knew Tyldesley folk were friendly An English Irish stew   Centenaries are ringing out In Ireland todayContinue reading “Heart To Heart”

9/11 We could not believe our eyes Those tall twin towers Collapsing from the skies The violence and the ruin The tragic loss of life The modern day spectacular Planes used as a knife   Dotted in our landscape Familiar to our eyes Mute monastic buildings Open to the skies Architectural wonders Destroyed upon theContinue reading “Monastic Ruins”

He walked to school down Printshop Carried his sister on his back All the world before him What would be his track? Coop turned him down – wrong school So Michael went down the pit Only fourteen years of age Hardly fit for it   Four years in that darkness Then he walked to WiganContinue reading “Walking To Wigan”

The sight of new potatoes turned my head To hell with ready meals We’ll have some spuds instead My mother’s words now echoing in my mind A meal without potato isn’t kind   Gammon and maple syrup would be nice And green spring cabbage Ready in a trice A proper meal not some processed thingContinue reading “New Potatoes”

  I am an Irish Englishman I can sit upon a fence And watch the world go by me Don’t need to make defence   We are an Island Nation Sufficient to ourselves Except for all our imports And someone to fill the shelves   We sailed the world in former times To trade andContinue reading “Island Life”

As sure As that little boy was lost I was loved As sure as he was neglected I was hugged As sure as he was left unfed I was fully nourished As sure as he was left for dead I have freely flourished   My whole life Was rooted from the start My mother’s loveContinue reading “The Little Boy”

Horror after the event The nation claps applause And government begins inquiry Into what and why and cause A child neglected left unloved Unfed and all alone What can we do what can we do This horror to atone   In story form the Lord describes A sheep lost on a hill And how theContinue reading “All For One”

  A sudden nosebleed Sticks me to my chair Recliner chair lie back And stem the tide No beaver dam Just hanky by my side It turns United red From Bolton white My pride   The flow of blood Great sign of life in me A change from clots And embolism pulmonary Little tablets fluentContinue reading “Circulation”