A new chapter

  Everyone comes Everyone comes from somewhere else Both body and soul, in this life and the next.  Nothing closer to the wish of Jesus Than we should welcome the stranger.  Come to me the poor and weak, Children driven from their homes, God sheds a tear this Christmas  For those who must travel from afar.  This year the Holy Family walked the path  From Afghanistan and Kurdistan From Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe  Looking for shelter in an Irish home.  And sometimes finding It. 

  Dun Leary   Dun Leary lies sleeping in the early morning Before the winter sun peeks above a sea Beneath a darkened sky with clouds That break to display early sunrise lights.  An early flight dances between clouds Disappearing to reappear again on its lonely way To an airport scratching sleepy eyes Embracing the daily miracle of modern flight.  The handsome Georgian houses wink and blink Their early lights in downstairs kitchens And in high ceilinged bedrooms The daily cycle of work and sleep .  The sky is brightening a faint faint blue Sprinkled with strobes of blushing pink Across an empty landscape bleached Of hope on a grey winter morn.  A squirrel runs along the picket fence The new estate his familiar haunt  Beneath bare trees reaching high Keeping faith that soft Spring is nigh. 

  Rain streaming Rain streaming down the window pane Drops rolling down the Velux glass Overlooking a saturated town  That hasn’t seen sunshine since summer.  Now is the winter of our wettest days When cold grey clouds camp and overstay Their welcome long worn out Sodden streets glisten in the mist.  On days like this it seems impossible To imagine sunny streets again Heads looking down avoiding pools With sturdy hats tied beneath our chins.  There is a rumor that the sun is shining Two thousand miles from here That children stream into the glare Of sun when school is closing.  Hard to conceive or to believe, That this small earth has people Swimming in the winter sea While we wrap our raincoats tighter.  

  New Year, old wallet A New Year has come So I’m checking thro’ my wallet It seems a little lighter  Than just twelve months ago.  I take out old notes with care Conscious that they have to last These twenty Euro notes are all I have  To keep me going, to see me past.  The high ranked notes are gone Spent last year without a thought  Slipped through my restless hands With little stuff to show.  I’m counting out the coins The change I once despised I’ll check the backs of chairs To see if something’s there.  Young people please take heed No money lasts forever  Spend your money slowly Go window shopping mostly.  Buy some things that last a while Invest in stuff that brings a smile  As the years have flown As the bank accounts run down.  The surprise comes greater  For the rich who think it’s later  Than the indigent and poor I wouldn’t be so sure.  I’m heading out to visit shops This wet first day of January We’l...

  Intercession   Some ask the priest to pray to Joseph Famous carpenter who might ask His darling wife so full of grace Who in turn might ask her son The quiet and the thoughtful one  Might ask his Father high above To heal the sick and lame Intercession was the    game.  Who to pray for and for what? To remember those that time forgot Is it right to pray at all? Perhaps I’ll simply wish instead.  Blessings both for both good and evil Sending concern across the ether As real as praying at the altar Wishes sprinkled on life’s water.  This prayer of mine is more a wish Sending wishes all the time Without a toll at every border Without a price to every order.  Free to travel back in time Free enough to span the oceans And the mountains while all the while Blessing those we now remember.  Friends or foes, it matters not  Love multiplies with every drop That’s sprinkled on our thirsty world  For man and woman, boy and girl. 

  In principio In the beginning it was dark There was no word or world No man, no God, no beast Nada, nothing, zilch.  And then one day it happened In a micro second  Suddenly from nowhere Time and space and matter.  We’ve no idea how it came about The scientists unsure We can but guess and speculate  No theory can articulate.  Don’t worry how the world appeared Toiling that it doesn’t disappear We are the only ones  With Mozart and Vermeer.  De Chardin is positive  We’re on an upwards journey  Agnostic me can’t choose  Nor does my choice decide What world our children find When we have left the stage  But I believe in miracles  And we will surely need one.  Or two. 

  Don’t lie lonely   Don’t lie lonely in your cancer bed You are surrounded by fond thoughts Wishing you the best and rest From pain and awful suffering.  At times like this we pray for you In the early hours before the dawn We will keep vigil at your bed We will hold you in the Light.  We can’t make sense of pain It’s impossible to explain Why sickness strikes a gentle soul And leaves another whole.  We will hold you by the hand Try and help you understand The millions that will pray for you In icy convents and Hiace vans.  Listen, if you can, to silence In that silence are the prayers Wordless, timeless at the core A pulse of love and care.  You are not alone tonight Listen to the silent hymns Know that you are loved  Both now and ever more.  For S,R,L