Rejected Verses 21-30

 21.Which I?

 

We share this notion

And it suits us well

That I am I

And you are you

It sounds so nice

But is it true?

 

What if the man

Of forty years ago

Is long gone

And in his place

Countless atoms

Moulding a newer man

Also called you.

 

I'm not the man

I used to be

Is truer than supposed

 

 

 

 

22.Fr. Martin Clarke PP

 

He rose early as the dew lay on the grass at Monkstown,

To quietly, silently pursue his solemn task,

As preparing horses eager for an early plough,

In lands both rich and barren.

 

His was the noble loyalty which worked unseen,

Over many days when the sun refused to shine

And winter months of unceasing rain

But always joyful and serene.

 

He leaves behind a world that’s saddened

Grateful to have shared a joke and laughter,

His legacy, an altar to enduring courage

And fond memories that will never dim or falter. 

 

 

 

 

23.Hail Mary

 

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee

Blessed art thou among women and men

And blessed is your son Jesus.                                                        

Holy Mary, mother of God's sons,

Think of us pilgrims

Now and beyond our death.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24.Futility

 

There was once a man

Not wholly unlike me,

Consumed by pride and greed

Not to mention ignorance

Who thought he 'owned' some things 

A house, a car, a field.

 

And so he bought

A lock and key, unfortunately

Not much use in posterity.

 

As he lay so handsome

In a priceless coffin

And the mourners

Wondered impatiently

The choice of wine

At the funeral party.

 

He's gone now sadly

He’s now returned to nature

Which will struggle

To remember him

Behind the tinted glass.

 

He's gone to where he is a stranger

To the open spirit that eluded him

A life of many chances

All spurned in acquiring 'things'

That served no purpose

And brought no cheer.

 

Wake up, wake up

And smell the coffee beans

Stop storing things

That disappear.

 

To arrive at heaven’s gate

With no legacy left

Would be a fulsome failure

To live and die bereft!                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.Milltown Park Nov 2013

 

Adieu to gentle Milltown Park

Goodbye to pleasant lawns

With autumn leafy walks

Birds singing in their haunts.

 

I take my leave of library

Smelling of old tomes

I'll miss the quiet chapel

Where faded incense lingers.

 

A place of calm on Sandford Road

An oasis of calm in the throbbing city's heart.

 

When January comes, there'll be an empty seat

Where once I wrote with student zeal. 

I'll miss Madge, the loyal guide dog snoring gently

Stretching her legs on the ancient wooden floor. 

 

Move on, we must and face what’s in store

A new year’s promise and the chance of more.

 

 

 

 

26.Nature’s Hymn

 

The hymn of nature doesn't summon or command

It simply whispers and suggests

What might have been

What might come to be

We sadly ditch the thought of happy chairs

Round heavenly tables

Realizing that we, no longer children must embrace

The facts that cannot be denied

Or piously explained away

That whatever follows

Will almost certainly be

Not what we expected

For the eye cannot see nor the ear hear

Except perhaps what honesty

And a penny telescope can share. 

 

                           

 

                                                                        

 

27.Crucify him!

 

Reflect not on the bleeding Christ

But on the crown of thorns

We daily weave for a bloody

And a weakened world.

 

A world we wound with greedy nails

Upon a cross of climate change

As life lies hanging from a cross

Our last breath dies on a poisoned wind.

 

Three times we denied

Before the crowing cock had died

Three times we denied

That climate was our fault;

We didn't know and didn't recognize

What stared us in the face.

 

We got a pass from Pilate

As we washed our hands, not his,

Of any thought of cutting back

To live a poor and simple life

That the poor might simply live. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28.They’ve promised rain 

 

They’ve promised rain

Much needed rain in Tenerife

I look out the bathroom window

An hour before the dawn

But no sign yet

No laughing raindrops

On the terrace tiles.

 

 

A bird is sitting on the palm tree

Below my bedroom terrace

Calling on the dawn with noisy chirps

It won’t be for lack of calls

The dawn will fail to show.

 

My last day for a while

Under the sun and stars

Of a temperate clime

That rests both body and soul.

 

Little to show for six weeks now:

An act of kindness here and there;

A journey not traveled

A meal of meat not eaten

 

Tiny little pearls for the necklace

Of the world we love and want to save

If not for us, for our children surely

To enjoy another dawn in paradise.    

 

 

 

 

         

 

29.Fight for Christ 

 

No need to fight for Christ

As we were trained in early days

When all the world seemed evil

When Saints came armed with swords.

 

Now as the years roll by

With hopefully some maturity

The concept sounds just crazy

So unworthy of a deity.

 

If there is a God at all

He’s not seeking help

Or blood or vengeance

Just sanity here below                                                          

 

Not so many words, just silence,

Not so many acts, just devotion

To love each creature without exception

Treasuring the very least of these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30.Canarian colours 

 

Blue and gold and white

Are the Canarian colors.

Blue for sea and sky

Gold for sun and heaven

And white for terraced houses

That ring the azure bay.

White the teeth of children

White their smiles in sea-spray

As they sport and play

In God’s own Eden garden.