Growth Rings

That romantic notion of planting our own garden

became so Trojan and arduous

that we lost heart.

I wonder now what daily chores kept us from seeing

when the wind stopped forcing the trees

to bend right over and arch.

Those minutes of life 

spin around this hub;

growth rings of our time

banked in those tree trunks.

Under 14s

In Creeslough, on a Friday,
time stopped forever
for ten people who had things to do.

Leona Harper had been raised

like all our children;

to see and live through adulthood.
The under 14s rugby player
was just like my daughters,
who wear under 14s soccer boots.

We often stop at Applegreen
after training,
so they can get Slushees.
In Lemybrien, on Fridays.

Chiffchaff

Staring from a golden eye-ring,

checking whether you can fly.

You just stand and get your bearings,

silent when not set up high.

Then the assurance in the wings,

back to where you are not shy

to chiff and chaff and trill and sing,

for audiences far and wide.

In comfort you are trumpeting,

outside of it you only hide.

When you feel at home you bring

your special notes that fill the sky.

Library Pictures

I can see myself seeing him,
Gorbachev on the TV screen.
I recall the library pictures,

and the ever-present figure 

of Dr. John Harbison,

the State Pathologist.

I thought President Hillery 

was a woman, known only

by her first name,

and associated

Bosnia Herzegovnia

with the Eurovision.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali 

were just words I'd repeat.

Beirut seemed both made up,

and the only place on earth .

In all that I did not understand

I felt he was a decent man:

Glasnost, perestroika, and that birthmark,

Here's to you, Mr. Gorbachev.

Unyielding

My kingdom for a sausage
that can be removed.

Not bound by other hostages;

chained, and stuck, and glued.

Give me the option,

drama free,

to choose to take just one,

without performing surgery

to solve the riddle of the bunch.

What I wouldn't give

for a yielding pack of rashers.

with an actual pull-back lid

not the Fort Knox standard.

The worst is when it says

peel back and reseal

when, in fact, you need a blade

and brute ferocity.

Restored

Let her walk the tides,
delighting in her tiny feet

gifted by the otherside,

where all is wine and cheese,

and freedom for the ones who died,

no responsibilities.

Mint sauce, chops, potato sides,

no dogs as far as can be seen,

no need for intravenous lines,

where all is toast and tea,

and faculties restored to mind,

paired earrings for eternity.

Hornet's Nest

But they are ready, don't you understand?
Yes, the latest massacre occurred,  

but there are plenty more schools in the land.

But they are ready, they just need another chance.

They're armed from the feet right up to the teeth,

all set to play Superman.

But they are ready, to take that final stand.

In their heads they're preventing deaths

and guarantee they'll never go mad.

But they are ready, unless the flames are fanned,

and they become the one with the gun

and a twisted moral stance.

But they are ready, the Bible in their hands,

to hold their weapons and the Second

above the rights of any man.

The leader of the free world denies life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

to its youngest and most precious lives, in favour of a hornet's nest

where larvae are tucked in at night, safer than human babies, clearly;

they are kissed, and held safe and tight, guarded and defended fiercely.

(Explanation: R.I.P. The 19 schoolchildren and their two teachers who were massacred in Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, Texas, USA, on 27/05/2022. I don't know how any of the families, friends, or anyone in the community will ever get over this tragedy, I can't begin to imagine how I would cope if a child of mine had been in that classroom.

According to news reports there have now been more mass shootings in 2022 than days so far this year. That makes this latest shooting not just predictable, but preventable).

Stolen Minutes

Is any food as good as when it's made by someone else?
What pleasure and what leisure, regardless of expense.

But, better still, the sandwich filled by lovely company,

and woe betide the child who tries to interrupt this treat.

They're yet to savour all the flavours of these stolen minutes,

their meals comply with what they like, they do not do the dishes;

no appreciation for preparation, and that's right for their age,

but let me have a little chat, and a sandwich I didn't make.

Time Capsule

The rabbits eat the bellis while the cat sleeps snug inside,

I patrol by dusk and upturn pots to tasty flowers hide.

Just one night missed will well undo all my careful work,

but then again the worst result is that the rabbits will be stuffed.

It's not hard to walk the garden on sunset primrose guard: 

I live in a charmed, geographically armed

place of certain peace;

a world away from The Ukraine and Russia's senseless siege.

I've thought a lot about that box, our message going ahead,

of how we'll say we're happy, and the wild rabbits are well fed.

Of our hopes for all the people on our census, from Ukraine,

and our thoughts for those who they have lost, all the missing names.

Sorting Socks

We have a severe sock shortage,

and those don't match up in shape;

Two pairs of wellies are beyond repair,

and we are sick of all the wind and rain.

I hate the two armchairs in the living room,

but just can't seem to fix that space,

and the myth perseveres of Putin being a human, 

and descended from a Kyivian birthplace.

If they are one people, if his claim is true,

maybe it is for the Kyivians to choose or not to choose

to stretch their coat of arms in line with Moscow's view,

and make Ukrainians of the Russians, one people out of two.

They would be free to spend their time then, day to day,

sorting socks and buying wellies, hating armchairs;

running out of washing capsules, washing anyway,

being late for soccer training, ignoring all the ware;

paying for the car tax; the cat's next vaccination.

No time to spare to prepare for Russia's mad invasion.