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Good Government A friend of mine stood for election onceHe did not winDid not come even nearBright intelligent capable he wasDid not get the voteThen I saw clear Elections are notAbout candidates and their stallElections reveal the electorateThat’s allThe people’s moodThe atmosphere they’re inThe signs of the timesIndicate who will win Manipulation yesThis plays aContinue reading “Good Government”

What kind of man is the Nazarene?This man you say you followThe one they call the Son of GodMessiahThe finest man you’ll ever meetThe people follow him in the streetThey know for sure they knowThere’s no one higher An honest man a humble manA man clear of eyeA gentle tongueA kindly voiceA listening earA spiritContinue reading “Man Of Nazareth”

Foundlings find their mothers nowThanks to DNAFind their fathers tooSuch is our modern wayAnd lives forever separatedBy life’s tragediesCan heal againNew born and back to stay Sorrow stress and circumstanceAttitudes of the timesBrought down days of misery to mumsNow research and chemistryOpens all closed doorsThere are always tracesWe can do the sums I was lostContinue reading “Life’s Traces”

This bloke at a dinnerWas going on and onAbout positivity and life planAnd five year down the lineEveryone was listeningThe bloke was so enthusedHe clearly loved his theoryThat was plain I got up from the tableAnd headed for the looJust to get awayTo have a breakI can’t stand too much positiveI can’t be doing withContinue reading “Cross Purpose”

In the trenchesOver the topInto No-Man’s LandTold to walkInto a wall of fireA scythe through grassThe fall of menNow they lieBeyond our kenIn quiet fields of FlandersFields in France Packed in landing craftThey comeA stretch of sand ahead of themGerman fire facing themTraces death before themStill they come Now in warm French earthThey lieTrue forContinue reading “A Soldier’s Testament”

Sociology opened my eyes to conditioningHow we live in bubbles of the mindDo not think outside the boxFind it hard to change our clocksWhen everything is going along just fine Forced adoptions now before usReveal a world of moral stricturePregnant females punished for their crimeTreated badly babies sadlyGiven to others welcomed gladlyGot the picture mothersContinue reading “Sound Systems”

When I was illAnd did not know myself as illA pain in my side was what I saidI reported to the hospital as bidAnd there spent many hoursBeing assessedThis test that testThen an MRIInto that big tubeI just lie down I’d been ferried thereBy wheelchairPorters ever pushPassengers down endless corridorsEveryone was kindEasy on the mindWe’llContinue reading “Lost In Hospital”

My grandson, Noah, called me on the phoneHe’s only two, a video call we hadHe’s off on holiday next weekSea and sand to seekSt Andrews a caravan, can’t be bad I first was there in 1973Chris and I young priests out on a spreePermission to take the carWe weren’t driving farEnded up right there onContinue reading “St Andrews”

I came away from GlastonburyA blind man came with meI offered him a lift in my carA two hour drive to BasingstokeWe talked most of the wayWhen he left I felt I’d lost a friend What was it caused this feeling?It was the way he listenedNot having sight he had to pick up hintsTone ofContinue reading “Sound And Vision”

There’s a little bus stop that I useA quiet sheltered stopA long slim plastic seat to rest me tooI like to be in situ thereLong before I needLong before the bus comes into view I must have sat for hours thereWhen you count it upAll the timeI’ve sat there for a busBut I am notContinue reading “A Shelter”

I grew up in a simple faithSimple faith and soundGod is in his heavenI am on the groundEveryone went to Sunday massJesus says helloThen back home to breakfastFootball down below Simple faith has stayed with meThrough all life’s ups and downsI finally left priesthoodBut faith was still aroundWe went to massI wrote a bitHomilies andContinue reading “Lord, That I May See!”

I never think of foodIt’s always thereWeetabix for breakfastPorridge tooOrange juice I haveIn great supplyAnd tea to drinkThe Empire’s favourite brew And soda breadMy mammy liked to makeNow in my old ageI like to bakeAnd chocolateTo keep this old man sweetAnd dinnertimeI will address some meat If I wantA nice man will deliverFood well frozenHeatContinue reading “Food Supply”

‘Yot me do? Mammy, yot me do?’That was the cry from meWhen I was boredMammy had to find solutionsWhile at the sink she did ablutionsWhile I sat in the houseJust bored and bored When our life is nowt but playWe can be idle all the dayNever doing workOr anythingLife must beOne long entertainmentNot for usContinue reading “Occupied Territory”

Getting Younger A lass I knowShe said of meHe’s like an old man– I was 73 –It shocked meTo hear the words she saidI know a man just his ageTotally differentDoes engageYour dad seems wellWell he just seems dead I limped alongThat is trueDidn’t really knowWhat to doBe the best I canBut it’s not greatContentedContinue reading “Getting Younger”

Nine day novena with my mumA holiday of sortsBut things to sort out if I couldShould I stay could I leave?Would this cause anyone to grieve? Drove to quiet churches thenAghagower firstThen Islandeady Fahy lastLeft Kilmeena drove on pastMy spiritual quest Came away none the wiserFlying back from KnockRainy window watch for airplaneHave I aContinue reading “Emmaus Moment”