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Since Margaret died I live alone Not lonely but alone I have been lonely Have been ill Mentally unwell Spiritually adrift Lost my way But thanks to my doctor And his pills And to a counsellor I am restored to life And all its thrills   My company My grandsons and my son Who visitContinue reading “Communion Of Saints”

Hawkstone Hall I saw again today Backdrop for a TV show Homes Under The Hammer Familiar pebbles on a path Splendid house and sky Queen Anne red brick building Cream as on apple pie   Ninety years a hidden gem Unknown to others’ gaze Only seminarians Walked its leafy maze Now a wonderful hotel IfContinue reading “Hidden Gem”

My grandsons grabbed That plastic packet of pencils Eager to make their mark Have you got paper, granddad? Their question stark We pretended that we hadn’t Time now to go home They’ll make their mark all right Wherever in life they roam   Our mark says ‘I was here’ I remember as a child CarvingContinue reading “I Was Here”

They carried their lives In their language Their stories and history they told Who came from where And who married whom And who went away And wasn’t she bold   Their language bound them together They knew when to say and be dumb You have to live with your neighbours From dawn to late settingContinue reading “Erris Echoes”

I have always to this day ‘Not liked United’ Not hatred understand Not animosity It’s the banter of local rivalry It’s David and Goliath The giant and the little shepherd boy   I remember coaches Parked in Elliot Street Heading for Old Trafford In the smoke While we went down to Burnden Round the cornerContinue reading “Local Rivalry”

Crowds are impatient of delay Fed on success They cannot cope with less We are who we are We always get our way United keep on stuttering Since the Fergie day   Crowds can only talk In cheers and boos And funny songs to sing When all goes well Except the crowd in Liverpool That’sContinue reading “Noisy Neighbours”

I listened on the radio And smiled Let’s not beat about the bush I was delighted Liverpool came to Manchester To do what they can do Knocked in 5 Salah 3 All against United   I had a feeling This was on the cards Liverpool a team And they on fire United Assorted individuals DemandingContinue reading “Old Trafford Blues”

First we invented teenagers With money Then pop records Selling romantic dreams Then magnified mass-media-ed The notion Romantic love is everything it seems   Oh to find my destined One and only Dream the dream On this my life depends The wisdom of ages Now discarded Elvis Presley Did you start all these trends?  Continue reading “Romantic Notions”

An abbey You would think a peaceful place Given to prayer and work A silent space Alas a crowd arrived A pilgrimage of grace From that encounter Lending them a horse The abbey fell And what befell the abbot Far far worse   I went to Whalley One fine Monday morn With the parish priestContinue reading “Former Days”

Watford were hopeless Lost by five last week Today they came to Everton A win too much to seek? Concede a goal early on Life’s an uphill struggle But low and behold The spirit found They climb out of the rubble   A man sits by the roadside Lost and left and blind Hears aContinue reading “Lamentation”

I have never driven for so long Into a setting sun Driving down from Belfast to the west Heading down to FIvemiletown Overnight stay there The road ablaze in crimson light Creation’s closing prayer   The road due west and arrow-like The sun refused to move Straight in my eyes the whole long way ThisContinue reading “The Road And The Miles”

Here no anonymity Everyone knows your name A sprinkling of islands Off Norway’s western main And northerly from Thurso A hundred miles or so The land of D I Perez The hero of the show   The sea provides containment A bloody painting’s frame Though some escape in early mist Perez will bring them hameContinue reading “Shetland”

  If you are going to Kilgalligan You are not going anywhere You are at your destination landed there For land abruptly terminates You are looking at the sea And from a height westward Everlastingly   Ancient place among the tombs Ancient fort was there All the fields blessed with names So locals know justContinue reading “Kilgalligan”

On this day in twenty-ten My mammy passed away Breathed her last of ninety-four long years Her passing was so peaceful I have hardly noticed grief The shock of her coffin yes But my tears were brief Brief   But today I see another death That happened on this day In Dublin town nineteen eighty-sixContinue reading “The 23rd of October”

A whisper a rumour And the market shelves are empty Toilet rolls and flour disappear We do not dig or plant our food We collect it from the stand Mention the word shortage Panic stalks the land   My mother’s days in Erris Her food was all around Potatoes cabbage vegetables In Glencullen ground WaterContinue reading “Save The Earth”