Castletroy Words

  On Arthur's Quay the candles glow just as they did two years ago I stand and think of you as the leaves in whirlwind blow Keep those who didn't fail you and the rest, it's time to let go. 

True Light She was a fishing Hooker out of Cleggan, Survived the Cleggan Disaster, legend, She fished on bravely until she retired  as a leisure cruiser, and faded away,  True Light,  a racing skiff out of Galway, I talk to him the of the boats,  she's tied up alongside the harbour wall,  we talk of True Light and Cleggan I talk of Roonagh and Louisburgh,  I remember the two boats turning on the water in sync, one after the other,  True Light, Out of Clare Island and Roonagh-Louisburgh,  O'Malley's legacy, the little ferry,  True Light turns on the water,  in perfect sync with Naomh behind as they come alongside and I see you standing there smiling you who are laid to rest here  in this beautiful place with your brothers, who we never forgot, whose pictures remain, My own True Light. My guide and inspiration. Your memory guides me now in this dark place and new dawn. Thinking of you on the first anniversary of your death, and the ba...

Candles in the dark spell HOPE even though the ones we remember are gone the hope is for us and for our future as we remember them  and we remember them I step forward and say your name my dear guardian, True Light and the grief overwhelms me You are irreplaceable but as we stand here you are close by Good people are like stars in the sky I'd forgotten so much that it's a year since you died Good people show us all we need to know about the world be my guide now, be my Hope.  True Light, two words you and I understand Hope. 

  Two years. Two years you have stood beside me through thick and thin— through tears, through rage, through despair, through rain and cold. You were constant. When I had nowhere to go, you opened your doors. When he left me with nothing but the street beneath my feet, you gave me shelter. And so many days I sat in your light and presence— resting, dreaming, praying, wishing, hoping for better. So many days I came to you carrying what he had done to me. I cried beneath your roof. I sat in silence. I tried to gather myself piece by piece. And you saw me. You saw me in all my weathers— in the rain and the cold, in the fury and the fear, in despair, in hope, in all the broken states a person can be. You were there. For two years, you were part of my life. And I will miss you. I will miss the familiar light, the quiet, the shelter, the people who gathered around you. I will miss the feeling of having somewhere to go. But there comes a time when even a sanctuary can no longer be home. B...

  You've gone, brother,  this world wasn't for you, you were unhappy and  we couldn't make you smile,  you know the lads will miss you, you loved them well enough,  I can't imagine how he's is feeling now, he did his best I think,  with his own challenges in the way,  would make you eat, roar at you  if you refused,  his coming in and cooking  was your best time of day,  you waited every day,  you couldn't sleep, It hurt me that I couldn't give you life force, the life force I have,  from my decision to live and suffer we couldn't raise a spark, and that makes me cry, life is precious and your suffering was too much for you to feel that, and I'm very sad, but you died knowing you were loved by your little circle of friends,  but it hurts, and people are sad, goodnight brother. 

  Racing the Storm - short prose. I felt cheated. No storm came.  Night passed, then day,  and the heat remained relentless. As evening fell and the bus sped on,  I saw clouds rising high above Shannon,  not strong enough yet.  Then darker clouds rose above the Slieves,  I knew the two storms would meet in the middle. But would we reach Limerick first?