Our Union Jack

Three crosses woven, bold and bright,St George in red, St Andrew white, St Patrick’s saltire laid between,Upon the flag where kings have been. A banner born of storm and sea,Of island hearts and history, Three patron saints in cloth entwined,Three ancient peoples, fate combined. It flew through cannon smoke and rain,Through years of glory, loss,Continue reading “Our Union Jack”

Roots

Their little hands pulling me towards responsibility,not with force,but with trust.A tug at the sleeve,a voice in the night,small shoes waiting by the door.And suddenly a man understandsthat love is not a feeling that visits —it is weight carried willingly.The world still calls him elsewhere:towards freedom without anchors,towards silence, towards self.But those small handskeep leadingContinue reading “Roots”

A Love Declared.

A love declared for days to come,is as good as none.It’s fog upon the mountain top.Soft warm skin you can not touch.’tomorrow’ ‘tomorrow’ – like time an endless field.like hearts don’t tire.like the grass will not be cut.But love is here – it breathes in the moment its given,or dilutes like a tear into theContinue reading “A Love Declared.”

Friday Evening Wine

The week parks the van,loosens its laces and sighs.Nothing left half-finished,noise fading from tired eyes. The evening leans in gently,like a friend who knows the way.Gleam glass catching candlelight,asking nothing of the day. And in that quiet unspoken pause,the aches feel far away.Friday evening glass of wine, We start the month of May.

Icon she gave me

She placed before me, still and small,The icon in silence, head did fall.Yet in my sorrow eyes were bright,A love that turns the dark to light. The Holy Mother stands in grief,Yet holds the faith beyond belief.Her gaze fixed where the suffering lies,Mercy from the crucified. In this icon, still and true,I see what loveContinue reading “Icon she gave me”

a broken sky

She walked in with a fractured heart,and eyes that held the day.But left beneath a broken sky,with all her colours grey.The world grew hard, the air turned cold,the stars forgot to shine.Yet far beneath the shattered ground,there stirred a root of vine.They crossed a door that should have stayed,Through hands that failed our trust.Warnings ignored,Continue reading “a broken sky”

Easter Saturday

The eve of Lenten’s weary old mileof prayerful days and the fasting trialA candle waits in flickering flameIn our victory we call His name.My sons laugh – sweet eggs in sightWe break and share – just one tonightMy wife prepares – the lamb is tenderI tell the boys of deaths surrenderThe table full – theContinue reading “Easter Saturday”

Lord Have Mercy

I have stood in pain and called it lifeAs I grew – a pint in hand masked the strifeBut in the quiet – now the cheers are goneI hear the spirit – I thought I’d outrunNot from the steel I kept close by my sideNot in the noise nor the things that I hideBut inContinue reading “Lord Have Mercy”