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Four days of golfDown on the coast of KentTest of skill and temperamentBlest with sunny weatherInternational field assembledEvery summer annual event Glorious shotsWayward strokesUp and down from thereIn the bunkerFind the sandSomething in the air Take your medicineMake a parA birdie or an eagleBogie double bogey, onceRory did quadruple They say it teaches life skillsCopeContinue reading “Fore!”

We said we’d go to CarrowteigueThat morningI knew the place so wellI loved the viewBut the sky was downThat morningCouldn’t see a thingMy brother smiledAh wellSomething new So we drove back inAnd settled on BelmulletThat new hotelThat looks out on the seaLunchtime and by nowThe sky was liftingAnd CarrowteigueWas winking back at me Then insideContinue reading “Western Strands”

Blinds and curtain closedAgainst the sunTo block out heat of dayIn my bedroomPrepare my chamberFor a night of sleepDeeply dark and coolThe angels keep Those quiet hoursSilently go byThe mind at restThe body easy lieUntil the morning lightCreeps in againInviting me to riseFor sun or rain Those hours of slumberDarkness house so stillBrings to aContinue reading “Morning And Evening Prayer”

I was orphanedI was exiled at 11Sounds dramaticHear me out just nowThe Church put me in seminaryCut off from my homeFrom daily parental guidanceAnd from love They thought to doA holy thing for GodIt was foolishIt was heartlessIt was cruelTo take a childFrom a loving happy homeProgramme himUse him as for fuel SeminaryHuman seedCelibate systemCutContinue reading “Once A Catholic”

Yoke of oxen ploughing fieldsBeasts of burden heavy loadsFamiliar sights to JesusOn Galilean roads Weary people on the streetCarrying life caresEach new day another mileAnother set of stairs Anxiety besets the heartWorry wears us downThe sun still shines up in the skyWhy our worried frown? Care-worn creatures all of usYoked to life’s demandsBurdened by theContinue reading “Yoke”

Abuse is nothing newLet me tell youProceeding from a sad and angry heartUnless the heart is healedThe bile outpouringJust continuesWe can do our part At ten years oldI sat and wrote a letterWith Kenny ThompsonA friend of mine in schoolWe wrote to supportBert Trautmann ex POWMan City ‘keeperMr Cool Abused for the crimeOf being GermanPoisonedContinue reading “Speak No Evil”

He wasn’t very cleverOne ‘O’ Level all he gotAnd that was artDrawing if you likeA series of dead end jobsNothing very grand or very smart But all the timeHe’s soaking in the soundsThe scenes the funny waysThe life aroundHis life is full of lifeEverybody else’sOne day he opens up this ground Reflected in his storiesWeContinue reading “Thank You, Peter Kay”

I like to read obituariesA go to place each dayNot deathIt’s life I want to knowPeople’s lives are interestingNow it can be readWhere born how lived where diedWe now know when IrelandMid West RadioThey have a daily listYou can read about the people who have diedThe names and the placesThose lovely sounding namesIrish names ofContinue reading “Written On The Heart”

MediationGets to gripsWith negative stuffIt doesn’t play Mr Nice GuyLet’s pretendIt deals in human languageWe all use it right enoughBut we use it badlyAnd come to a bad end Anger and accusationDrain the tankOur energy for goodThen drains awayWe smite the air with insultsWe attack and we defendDetermined to be heardTo have our say LetContinue reading “Speaking”

Half time and one-nil downHow do you solve the problem?England rock solid in defenceCan’t see a way through them High balls would be gobbled upWhat’s the point of crossingStones Maguire come out on topAerial combat bossing Mancini knows what they must doProblems can be solvedAnd so his players gather roundHoudini, show us through Possess theContinue reading “Mancini Finds A Way”

The Great WarLeft great hurt behindGreat void great loss of meaningDeep silence over everythingAnd the bitter sound of keening The folly of the TwentiesWhen everyone went dancingDancing into darknessInto nightDrink champagne get leglessEnjoy life while you canOur memories hurtingOnly give us fright The fear of ever fightingGave politicians pauseHesitant to raise their voice againDiscontent inContinue reading “Life’s Battle”

I couldn’t supportThis England teamNot my type of playA defensive blockTakes the joy awaySet up to win the EurosDo not concede a goalHope to score oneA team but got no soul Losing out on penaltiesA kind of justice thereA dubious spot kickWon their final placeSo we get the same old storyIt wasn’t death or gloryItContinue reading “England, Their England”

I have never known illnessSickness in my lifeNot in my bodyMy body has been fineBut in my mind and heartAh that’s a different thingThe ills I’ve suffered thereWell where to start! Well I won’t startYou’ve heard it all beforeAnd what was wrongIs mended nowIs no longer soreJust to say the suffering we knowTakes many formsNotContinue reading “Anointing”

Everyone needs a window on the worldA third floor window giving you a viewA view across the wide outsideA view down to the streetA place to sit and contemplate anew From here you can look out on the worldAnd see the places life once took you toYou can visit them again in memoryAnd see soContinue reading “Window on the World”

I do not identify with EnglandOr with Ireland or any land come to thatI lived two years in ItalyNow Scotland twenty yearsI’m not an I-Ti not a Jock and not a Pat I like to keep identity more localTyldesley and GlencullenSpeak to meA Lancashire Mayo man is my feelingSupporting them means everything you see IContinue reading “A Sense of Place”