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It’s now called ‘Raymond’s bench’Because while his funeral mass was taking placeI walked in God’s fresh airAnd thought of himAnd spoke to himCan you hear me, Raymond?What I saidIf we can talk to saintsThen it’s a go-erRaymond hears me too I prayed for him in LatinIn my houseMy old Missale RomanumBack in styleI read outContinue reading “Requiem For Raymond”

I see my neighbour ‘s had a prangA car crashFront all crumpledFairly walloped tooI think everyone’s okayThat’s the main thingBut cars! Cars! Cars!What can you do! So gladI’m not driving anymoreThe thought of itCauses me to spinHeadlong rush to hellAll our drivingEveryone ensconcedIn their own cell I don’t denyThe benefit of movingBoats and trains andContinue reading “I’ll Walk”

Ather-Leigh WoodsNature walk from schoolYoung children walk in twosA snaking lineI remember tall treesLoomingFriendly all communingAnd leaves of russet goldUpon the ground It felt so friendlyWalls of wood aroundGentle breezesFluttering leaves on treesA carpet at your feetA welcome mat to greetThe wondering wandering childrenIn this den Suddenly from out the lineA girl comes running upToContinue reading “The Kiss”

We have argued over IrelandWe could argue stillThe lives now lostThe blood then spiltThe marching and the drillThere is no easy solutionThe end is not the gameIt’s the beginning that really mattersHow you start to frame Our attitude to othersIs our source of libertyThe freedom in my heartFrom bigotryMy desire to live in peace withContinue reading “Blend”

I would love to seeIreland unitedA peaceful landSurrounded by the seaFor that to happenChange will have to happenChange of heartChange mentality Never never neverNo surrenderThe Orange and the GreenThe story goesYou cannot fight for unityThat is not the point of warVictory and defeatIs all it knows You have to want somethingIf it’s going to happenAndContinue reading “All Ireland”

Jack GrealishHead and shouldersSeems to mePowerful calves and thighsAll seeing eyesBrave and bold and bestYou follow me? He played GAAIn Croke ParkHigh energy gameNeed to make your markChannelled intoEngland’s national gameIrish rootsDefinite Brummy bark I saw him playAt BoltonIn a freezeBeast from the EastHe floated on a breezeCrossed from right to leftDeft turn on theContinue reading “Watch This Boy”

A depressive an alcoholicWilliam GoldingThe man who wrote the novelLord of the FliesWritten after the horrorsOf Nazi EuropeHumanity a thing nowTo despise A better storyTrue about an islandConcerns some boysEscaping catholic schoolSailing out of TongaBuffeted by stormThey fetch up on an islandFeeling fool 15 months they surviveOrdeal togetherThey make a ruleNever to disagreeWhen they doTheyContinue reading “Human Beings”

Calculations I did my calculationsFor the CoopNumber of itemsOnly need one bagI usually take twoOne I thought will doComing home really was a drag You foolish manIt isn’t the item numberNow that mattersIt’s the weight of thingsAll gathered in one bagNo wonder coming homeYou’re shatteredYou must have lookedCompletely an old lag Having been a preacherThere’sContinue reading “Calculations”

It was the night beforeMy cousin John got marriedDown in BinghamstownInside BelmulletWe had settled for a jarA band began to playThe oldest bandI ever saw by far There was accordionThere was fiddle there was drumsAnd three old menAs lively as you pleaseThey played away that nightThe sea beside themBlacksod BayPure Atlantic breeze Forty years andContinue reading “Boys of Binghamstown”

There is no ha-ha about the haarIn ScotlandJust ask the folk in FifeThey know it wellWarm air risingOver a cold North SeaEast wind blows a mistA foggy swell Lovely daysOf warm and sunny weatherSuddenly a dampener appearsGone the joy and blissOf summer sunshineHere to stay a haarInviting tears There are peopleWho resembleSuch sea frettingProviding dampAtContinue reading “Haar”

Mark 12:28-34 In these daysWhen God seems set asideWhen church and religionJust don’t countWhen faith is seenAs a private personal dreamAnd the gospel is not readDoes not amount In these daysA conversation happensBetween a scribeAnd the man from GalileeWhat is the biggest thing?That all of us must doWhat is it that unites you and me?Continue reading “First Of All”

We are all good at somethingI told himWhen Walter kindly praised meFor my writingsIt is nice to be regardedBest way of being rewardedAnd I was gratefulFor those words inviting Now Walter is a characterThat’s the best way to put itIf pressed for a descriptionWhere to start!You really have to meet himCome close enough to greetContinue reading “Walter Merry”

Going to RomeWas a rescue actTo salvage my mindFrom the shipwreck of my lifeI had founderedOn the simple rockOf loveForbidden to the likes of meSince seminaryHad rooted me in religionAnd celibacy was theCondition of my caging So off to RomeTo studyMoral TheologyBrian’s cleverHe’ll get a degreeSumma cum LaudeNothing less will do This hot and sunnyContinue reading “Talking Italian”

Post war and marriedBelated honeymoonSat on rocksAt the edges of Lough ConnSunny days and happy timesMust have been a dreamOr emerging from a nightmareOn and on Mum was making bombsAnd dad was firing themStrange jobsFor such gentle peaceful folkHoliday in Ireland ‘46Whole new world to faceStarting up in those daysWas no joke The story isContinue reading “The Rocks At Lough Conn”

He would have died for sureHad he hit the groundBut Trooper SteeleWas hanging in the airHis chute caught on a pinnacleAnd flat against the wallHe saw his comrades dieAs they fell Two hours he hung thereWounded in the footThen spied and capturedTake down aliveFour hours a prisonerHe makes a quick escapeAnd joins more troopersBack toContinue reading “A Pinnacle Of Achievement”