Poem of the weekPaddy Henry

YOU lie peacefully now -

Ravaged by the enemy within.

He did not face you openly,

Fearful he might have lost the fight!

Incongruously clutching a tiny wooden crucifix,

You have joined the great beyond

Where you’ll have questions to ask

Before joining the inner sanctum.

In life you sipped caffeine

But later you devoured oxygen,

Took painkillers by the score

In a bid to be free

Whilst Bacchus rested.

Perhaps you should have imbibed?

You did not conform,

Not for you the bowing, the scraping,

The touching of statues,

The walking in procession

But philanthropic to the end -

Seeing God in all of us.

You left us in deepest winter,

Your forehead cold on my lips

As I kiss my last goodbye.

Soon spring grass will appear

But the Heath has changed already.

No more will you leave Ireland’s shores,

No more those endless rounds of meetings,

No puck offs,

No winning hands at poker,

No more turgid inquiries,

No boss to answer to

But Him who will not find you wanting.

Joe Hughes

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