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Matthew 5:20-26 How to deal with a difficult opponentThe task in handAlmost every day you liveThere’s a skill to be learnedYou can’t just presume itWhen give and takeBecomes just give and give The aftermath of warLeft people brokenIn GermanyIt left a bitter tasteAnd HitlerWas the one to bring togetherThe anger and frustration and the wasteContinue reading “Now Then”

When my mind couldn’t sayWhat I wanted to sayMy body said it for meMy son was bornWe struggled onNot knowing if we could be My inner selfWas torn in twoI retreated from the frayDoing what I always doThinking but just don’t say My love of GodMy sense of selfMy public honour tooMy historyThe road IContinue reading “Tongue Tied”

Michael told me thisWe laughed out loudA lovely image fixed now in the mindClosing time in LeighAnd coming homeOur Michael finds his father in before him Michael just beginning at the pintDaddy well seasoned in that artBoth had been in locals for an hourNow come home the kitchen where they met Opening the doorHe sawContinue reading “Ashley And My Dad”

Two arms flung outTo greet her first born sonThat day in the hospitalWhen we had come from ScotlandAll the way to seeOur darling mum The beginning of travailsNow when I look backCataract operationBroken hipHip replacedMy God you had some fun! No more going homeAfter thatA year in CastlebarThen McBrideA final year in bedAll power awayOhContinue reading “Remembering My Mammy”

The moment of joyMoment of sadness tooWhen holidays overWe were leaving youThat spot on the roadWhere first we sawThe house in the glenAnd then no more All that drivingAll that journey throughWind and weatherDarkness day anewHours twenty-fourBefore we cameTo that spotThat bore that holy name The lake before usCloontakilla sideThe road now undulatingTarmac driedRising toContinue reading “Glencullen ~ From The Big Turn”

A map of blue and greenUpon my wallShows off this quiet cornerOf the worldUnknown to mostYou’d never thinkThe drama there has beenAround this coastSo peaceful is the scene Invaders from the seaEscaping homePut in by Doona pointAnd lost their shipTaking Fahy CastleThey marched around the bayThey sailed for SpainAlas a fateful trip A lighthouse onContinue reading “Blacksod Bay”

Elvis was a twinJesse diedSo Elvis was aloneFrom the startGrieving for his companionOf the dark and cosy wombLife was coldWhen Elvis came outside Elvis was poorSouthern dirtFor dodgy checkDaddy shamed in jailMama told him singWhen moon is fullJesse will hear youElvis did not fail From loneliness and povertyBlack folk all aroundSinging blues and lonesomeMelodyElvis heardContinue reading “Elvis and Jesse”

Where is my favourite place?In all the worldGood questionSince I’ve lived in quite a fewLet me name them to you Lancashire and Tyldesley for a startA mining townAnd millsA great big heartI love the place becauseIt was the startOf everythingEverything you’re a part Birmingham was schoolWe won’t go thereI’ve bored the worldWith those boring yearsAndContinue reading “Geography or History”

My childhood was a happy blissful thingFamily Tyldesley church and schoolClass and teachers learningFootball really cool I wanted other people to be happyI sensed the gospel thingThe real dealI wanted to keep going as I was goingBut a major breakPut a spoke right in that wheel A priest suggested seminary to meI followed as suggestedAllContinue reading “An Obedient Child”

A baby boy washed up upon the shoreIn NorwayWell north of England’s coastA family all drownedWhen Channel watersUpturned those migrantsFrom a crowded boat My people came to EnglandOver waterFrom Dublin PortTo Holyhead they cameMy grandfather my motherLeaving IrelandSeeking life and workJust the same If England conquered IrelandWith armiesIreland returned the complimentInvading Navvies floodedEvery cornerWith roadsContinue reading “Destination England”

Sarah EverardWalking quiet streetsBy Clapham CommonWays I used to go’71 the yearI came to ClaphamA young manDressed in blackLong way to go At least I gotTo walk my roadsUnhinderedUnmolestedUnidentifiedUnknown to daily papersAny newsprintA simple life I liveAnd I survived Women need respectingThat’s our problemWe see them as an objectThere for menSome culturesHide them from ourContinue reading “Human Maturity”

Front door key is vitalSo don’t lose itLose it and you’re locked outFrom your homeExiled from the placeYou hold the dearestCondemned to walk the streetsTo walk alone Jesus on the hillsideOffers listenersThe key to lifeUnlocking every doorRecite it every dayYou’ll find doors openingWanting less you’ll findIs having more The poor are richThe gentle they areContinue reading “Key”

Bruce pawed my missalScratched its coverMaybe just wantingTo say his prayersBut I annoyed and angryAt this scratchingTold him offContrite he seemed to care Now I look and seeA precious imprintA relic of the dogI loved so wellSixty years and stillI feel affectionFor a collie dogSo lovely I can’t tell A letter from my motherKnow theContinue reading “A Sacred Relic”

The song is hauntingLike an echo chamberSkeeter DavisSings it soulfullyThey play it as a soundtrackIn the series‘Too Close’And what a series that! Emily WatsonPlays psychologistDenise GoughThe ‘crazy mummy’girlWhy are the streetsNot full of broken people?– May be they areMaybe we just don’t see And all the whileSkeeter Davis sings‘Why does the sun keep on shining?WhyContinue reading “A Beautiful Haunting”

What did I do today?I rose at eightSlightly sluggishHence my starting lateOrange juice nutty granola teaUsual ablutionsThen to poetryWrote about the BismarckGreat old storyLutjens and LindemannOut for fame and gloryThen to catch my busAnd Waitrose shopWarm day todaySo salad top of my listAnd Vin FrancaisKeeps me happyA glass or two I’d say Bus homeSoda breadContinue reading “Granddad’s Day”