One man’s war
One man’s war holds in store
Death and exile, fear and horror.
How did we let him get this far
Why not stop him long before?
We only heard the words the Lord said
About the doves and being gentle
Drinking tea in China cups
Politely with the enemy.
Christ mentioned serpents and being cunning
But those lines we found were missing
We hadn’t learned the lessons of the millions
Who perished in Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Who lived in ghettos til transported
On trains like sheep to the station
They meekly walked into gas chambers
Were shown no mercy for their patience.
To work for peace is not so simple
We simply cannot suffer murder
In the hope that someone else
Will come to rescue and to save us.
Peace will come when the bully’s beaten
With his hands behind his back
All the prayers and all the candles
Are simply not good enough.
And when it’s over the message clearer
To athletes and the Bolshoi Ballet
There are consequences for a country
There are dues that must be paid.
This is a war that belongs to Putin
But the drumbeat sounds globally
The damage is felt universally
There must be Justice finally.
Every country has its fools
They raise their voices to defend him
Time has passed when we listen to them
We simply hold for victory.
Train to Sligo
Coming up to Christmas
As regular as clockwork
The sisters travelled on the train
From Connolly to McDermott
Or as advertised MacDiarmada
For Iarnrod Eireann faithfully
Catered to the one percent
Who spoke Gaelic fluently.
Lily and Maureen armed with presents
For their siblings up in Castle Street.
We rendezvoused in Churchtown
When stars were in the skies
Before the milkman called
Before the postman too.
A welcome breakfast in the North Star
Before heading for the platform
Up ho into the carriage
Lots of chat for them to manage.
Then after work I’d pick mum up
While Norman did the same
Back to Landscape for a tea
A short debrief then off I went.
These ladies of the second decade
Of the twentieth century
Never strayed from their birth place
Or their kindred back home.
All the photos monochrome
All the memories dear
Of the sisters who always travelled
When advent turned the corner.
Two terraces and a kettle
The sea is heard above the silence
That has fallen on an evening land
When sounds of man fall silent
And the ocean claims its hour.
Now is the time when crickets fill
The dying hours with their strident calls
With sounds that promise summer heat
And lazy days beneath the sun.
Houses flicker with warm lights
Before the western sky grows dark
All is well and all is calm
In this piece of Paradise.
The night has taken over
The ocean chorus sounds much clearer
As wounded Nature sounds defiant
And recalls the primeval order.
It’s over now
It’s over now the battle’s lost
To save the world from climate change
Mankind will suffer and survive
As it’s done before but with smaller numbers.
Not all is lost but quite a lot
The poor and innocent will take this hit
Stuck where they’re born while wealthy wasters
Leave their problems to the ones who come behind.
My eyes are lifted to the mountains high
That rise above the sea and touch the sky
Beyond the palm trees on the fairway
We glimpse Mount Teide climb above the ranges.
All has changed before and will change again
Good to be alive to watch bad golf
Along the ninth that passes by my balcony
Commune with simple souls that strike a ball
Around a strip of grass contained by garden walls.
The last chapter
He turned the pages one by one
He enjoyed the reading in the sun
The book of life was his own
Years and months and days had flown.
Over years he lost some friends
Neighbours and relatives had met their end
But nothing before prepared him quite
When the last chapter came in sight.
Another chapter had always lurked ahead
When he turned off the light beside his bed
Every night for eighty years
This book that never ended.
Imagine his surprise and dread
When no more chapters lay ahead
He watched in horror as a page a day
Turned in his book, time wouldn’t stay
Neither time nor tide waits for any one
Our time is rationed under the sun.
One Hundred Thousand years ago
One hundred thousand years ago
The weather disimproved
The winter first came sooner
And then it lasted longer.
Stone Age man looked out his cave
And faced a tough decision
To stay within the family
Or wander southwards sooner.
The wise men were approached
Who examined stars and signs
And warned against them leaving
To a future land uncertain.
And so the others froze and died
Over years and generations
This story only saved and told
By those who shunned the warnings.
Off they traveled south
Unsure of what the future
When all the sound advice
Was to stay inside and shelter.
Stone Age man’s replaced by iPhone guy
But things are much the same
Mankind must face new climate change
And the lives that it will claim.
iPhone man will overcome
More by luck than by design
Once again the poor will perish
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