Smile

 A smile

He walked the woods and hills

And harvested the smiles

Of walkers as they passed. 

Of couples hand in hand

Of owners throwing sticks

For barking, happy dogs. 

He wasn’t sure what car they drove

What leggings, coats they wore

Just the greeting as they passed. 

All he saw were smiles

That’s all he could remember

Over many months and years. 

The smile that opened up

And made possible 

The universal bond

That renders life worthwhile

And bright and light and fun

Like a red balloon arising

Above the autumn rain. 

Faith of our fathers

 Mourning my lost faith

I’m sitting in my favorite church

This Sunday afternoon 

Beside the carving of Newman

The champion of the conscience. 

I miss the many times I spent

In prayer and contemplation 

Of the final times and truths

In this venue, in this very pew. 

I miss the Taizé Mass on Sunday evening

The chapel lit with candles warmed by faith

And simple hymns that lifted the soul 

That gave the mind some space. 

All alone in the quiet chapel 

As the clock turns four p.m. 

And this winter evening

Draws to a quiet close. 

The Church of the Assumption in Dalkey

The heart of the village and its Centre 

Where all our children were christened

We returned at Christmas and Easter. 

The faith of an old generation

Now dying away in their droves

As Ireland enters a new age

Finding its way as it goes. 

The light is dying I’m afraid

The stained glass windows grow dim

I head back into the street

Where couples are holding hands.

The faith I no longer practice

Brought out the best in me

Proving, if needed, that life 

Isn’t always a cup of tea. 

Kevin

 One year on

One year on and the world has hardly changed

Since Kevin departed and was laid to rest

In Shanganagh soil, twixt mountains and the sea

Looking out to Wicklow mountains and to Dublin hills

This fair January morn when the world breathes in

And hopes for deliverance after two years of plague. 

We too are one year closer to joining him

Along an avenue with crosses and headstones 

That slowly snakes longer with each passing year 

Handsome marble stones beside more modest crosses 

Testament to the ultimate democracy of this short life

When we will join the young and mostly old

Lying peacefully in the cemetery. 

If we can gaze on life and death

And greet them both with equanimity 

If we can reflect on the shortness of this life

How we might value it and embrace the hours 

That number fewer with every passing day. 

There is a sweet sadness in remembering our friendship

And the days we spent in Leopardstown 

When the world was young and all was possible. 

Toiling cheerfully for the Kingdom of God

Happily living vows of obedience and simplicity. 

Tell me they were not wasted hours

Working in the vineyard of the Lord

The years that showed no material return. 

While on the world spun oblivious 

As now it now seems to spin on and on

But it’s a better world for having you around 

Enriched by your gentle humor

No, the world will never be the same 

Because of you.  

Birds

 The birds

It’s still the cool mid Winter

But the birds have decided

That spring has just arrived

So they sing with cheer. 

In the trees above Shankill

In the hills rising from the sea

Climbing swiftly towards the mountains

On the paths that lead to peace. 

We leave behind the busy road

With heavy traffic going south

Ten minutes brings us to the start

Of woodland paths and scenic routes. 

Down below us lies the city

Busy, busy with its cares

Up above the scent of nature

And beyond the old Lead Mines. 

The pale winter sun struggles to rise

Above narrow trees in Rathmichael Woods

Climbing ahead the forest path leads

To a place in the clearing overlooking the Bay. 

Often we travelled on green Raleigh bikes

Out of the town and into the mountains. 

The sixties gave freedom, one gear to our bikes 

That brought us from Churchtown down strange country lanes. 

We look back today on the times of our youth

Capturing memories, some black and some white

Grateful for days spent in the sun

Happy to have seen and been witness 

To both worlds colliding, the old and new, 

The baton passed on, the elders retiring

Brought forward by new blood  

The world matches on.

Adapters

 We are the great adapters 

How we got here no one knows 

Down a road two million years

And here we are still chirping

Like birds upon a daybreak wall. 

We duck and dive, dance and jive

Flee the ice age then the sun 

Faithful to no special place

Running forward, human race. 

We have dealt with all that’s thrown

By nature at our Eden garden

But now it’s nature turn

To survive the human churn. 

When we kill the earth the game is over

The party lasting two million years

Comes quickly crashing in the furnace

Of climate change despite our tears. 

We’ll have to learn to change

To give ourselves another chance

To see another century

Or die amid a trance

That makes us drowsy, half-asleep

To the dangers that we keep 

Sleepwalking off the cliff

We’d better wake up fairly quick. 

The end comes slowly, then at pace

First unobserved, then undenied

The car is hurtling towards the wall

Time to slow down the chase. 

To travel less and stay local 

Favor small over midsize portion

Stay satisfied, don’t change the kitchen 

The car, the wife or ancient husband. 

The joy of less is so freeing

Time to spend on really living

Free from coats that hide the self

Free things are the most amazing. 

So back to basics

Back to home, if we can

Trim the sail, drop the anchor

Slow the boat,  adapt again

Ashling/Aislinn.

 Ashling Murphy Tribute

How shall we remember Ashling

Whose dreams were peopled with pupils

And music and laughter and dance

Who died too young without a chance

To see her dreams take shape

For she has left a legacy

Brighter than the sun

A message here for everyone 

Let your dreams bless every child 

In word and thought and action

Before you go to sleep at night

Wish man and woman well. 

More important when we die

Is what we leave and strive for

Her legacy will live

Far longer than the headlines. 

Let not her death define her

Or let our fears win over

Let her light shine bright

May our sights rise higher. 

Greater than her death was life

We shall recall her sparkle 

We shall recall her deeds

Swaying to her music. 

The Gaelic name is Aislinn

More powerful it seems 

To change a life with dreams

Of sowing kindness in our genes. 

We will remember Ashling

And her life, though short

Less in sadness or regret

More an invitation to reflect 

On dreams that end unless we strive

For better things with fondness 

For each other and the world 

As we honor her this morning. 

Going, going

 When we go

When we go, we go

In mercy fast, not slow 

Let us live before we die

Let us breathe and see the sky. 

We know it’s safe in nursing homes

We know the peril if we roam

But we prefer to take the chance

Embrace the moment, dance the dance. 

Our loving wives feed us the scarves

But caps and gloves get on our nerves 

We weren’t  born to taper out

We’re so confined we want to shout. 

Living long is over-valued 

When living long means three warm meals

Brought up and and served

By gentle nurses from the Philippines. 

Give us the freedom to make mistakes

To get completely lost if needed

True love means untying bonds

To heed what’s mostly pleaded. 

The dignity to live and die

As God intended, not the system 

That does not trust or really care

As long as rules are kept right there. 

Born free with minds and hearts 

Let us face our destiny

For death is not the enemy 

When our time has come.  

Cricket

 A cricketers lament  

We put our lives on hold

We did what we were told

We didn’t hold a party

We didn’t play it smarty. 

No sir, with a straight bat we

Stood bravely in the crease 

And faced the balls that COVID threw

How lonely it could be!

On Englands cricket fields

As our companions fell

With no one there to tell

Their silent tales of mortal loss. 

He kept calm, kept moving on

Past the lines of hearses

Stiff upper lip with no surrender

Another bloody Dunkirk blunder

For as we died and spilled our blood

The leader partied in the club house

It’s not the pain it’s not the anguish

It’s the cold feeling of desertion. 

A cricketer will face the foe

Will assume he’s on the same team

But no one can describe his anger

When he finds he’s lied to. 

Hell hath no fury like the batsman 

Toiling through the long day

Finding that his Captain

Has been rolling in the hay

With a winsome local lass

He’s wined and dined

While others died and had to take it,

No sir, that’s not cricket. 

Resolutions.

 Lust for life

Lust for life with each New Year

With much to toast and much to cheer

What to do with life’s next decade?

To waste away or embrace without fear

Of falling or failing, it won’t be plain sailing

Despite all the potions for all our old ailing 

But lying in bed won’t cut the mustard

Get active and lively and live to a hundred

And make them all suffer with advice by the chapter

But cheer them up after with with tales and with laughter

That are better than pills 

And the care of the doctor. 

It’s the start of a year that’s going to be better

It better start now or I’ll write it a letter

Like my lines to the Times never yet published

The letters that only the agéd can offer. 

The sun is still shining in St. Helen’s Bay

The daylight lasts longer this January day

I won’t rest in shadows away from the sun

I’ll open my arms in widest display 

Embracing the heat, enjoying the waves

That fall on the beach deserted and fine

Enchanted by sounds of water on sand

As fine as the tune of a military band. 

Low the sun lies in a sky milky blue

Exiling our sorrows if only a few

Hours until sunset and let the bright morrow

Deal with the future of joy or of sorrow. 

The Gap

The gap

The gap around the Christmas tree

His presence missed this season

This time of family get togethers

And annual reunion. 

Missing from the photos

And missing from the dinners

His quiet presence absent

His wisdom and his humor. 

Twelve months have passed

More slowly due to COVID

A year that hardly moved

With little sadly showing.

We come to Mass to celebrate

A life spent well and fully

The memories linger and inspire 

To embrace our time more gladly. 

Kevin came and Kevin left

A smile and a memory 

That help us at this time 

Face a New Year with bravery. 

Always at the end was hope

Conviction in the goodness 

That steered his life and brought him home

In God’s eternal company.