Every Now and Then

There is so much I want my sons to learn,
There is so much wonder in the world.
There is so much they should take on board,
There is so much to be seen and heard.

There are also things to be avoided of course,
There are also things they shouldn’t touch.
There is evil, tragedy, violence and worse;
Things I try to hide from them as such.

There are so many bad news stories about,
There are so many sent to eyes and ears.
There are so many, I have to shut them out,
Far too many fighting for our tears.

There is so much that I want my sons to learn,
There is so much wonder in their soul.
There is so little time until it is their turn,
To cross the bridge and face up to the troll.

I sleep when I’m sleepy
I weep when I’m weepy
I snooze when I’m snoozy
I booze when I’m boozy
I choose when I’m choosy
I lose when you ruse me
I fly when I’m flighty
I’m high, high and mighty.

I’m sorry, oh yes, did I forget to mention?
I’ve not so much “fallen off” the wagon.
I’ve just stepped off while quenching,
The estimated thirst of a baby dragon.

When the sun bursts the buds open,
In the middle of Spring.
And blue skies blind your eyes,
You feel like a king.

It might be frosty night and dawn,
The wind might zip and zing.
But a little bit of sunshine
Is a powerful thing.

When first appeared non-rhyming naked emperors?
Were they followed by a flock of publishers and editors?
My wonderful Aunt Rita will tell you – and she knows,
Poetry that doesn’t rhyme, should be called prose.

Defenders will say – “it is the flowing words and meter!”
That’s all very well if you’re trying to be a preacher.
Mr. Dumpty didn’t sit on the fence – I suppose,
He didn’t want his story, told to kids as prose.

Men seldom make passes, at girls with bad asses.
Men often will stare, at a nice derriere.
Girls often take glances, at men for the chance is,
Girls notice men’s eyes, occupied otherwise.

My neighbour flew back to my house tonight,
I believe he is, South African.
I hope he was warmed by his long, long flight;
It’s so cold, he might fly back again.

Thanks Willie for your booklet, on how to plan ahead,
For all those emergencies, now tonight I go to bed,
And all my lovely dreams, turn to nightmares instead,
Because your lovely booklet, has filled me full of dread.

Of course I’m only kidding, I’m not like Woody Allen,
But some things are scary, in your ahead planning.
Mostly we’re advised, stay inside, keep scanning
The airwaves for updates, so trust in Dave Fanning.

Thanks Willie for your booklet, on how to plan it shows
With all of these emergencies, we’ll see how it goes.
Like for nuclear incidents, here’s what I now knows:
Stay in, keep praying, that the west wind blows!

The Chinese Ambassador took his seat,
So he could stand up and walk out
At the Green Party leader’s speech,
Calling Tibet a country, the lout..!

Minor Minister gets minor publicity
Foreign Minister, lifts carpet, brushes.
Chinese Ambassador shows complicity,
Doesn’t even shed a few blushes.

The Olympic torch, bad start to its tour
In Paris, London, and Cisco.
Hitler’s P.R. gang were first, for sure
They didn’t get protests like this though.

The Tibetan monks with colourful robes
Some colours hiding the blood stains.
From internal affairs, to affairs in Darfur,
China must do more than a good games.

Like, I was like, you know like,
Listening to a conversation.
And she was like; Oh…My…God…Like!
Is this communication?
Valley Girls, 6 Friends, tell me who’s to blame?
Janice’s evil legacy, she of ex-Chandler fame..?

Said wide boy Jamie Redknapp
“Literally, he is on fire tonight”,
I had to think for a few moments,
Had I seen that player alight?
He’s not alone with this abuse of literally at the start,
The source it is unknown to me, but I wish it would depart.

Meanwhile, I watched Des Bishop,
A comic wolf dressed up as mutton;
Observing Irish people,
And getting it right on the button.
Literally, speaking, makes it easier, to learn my native tongue.
You don’t need to be Irish, very clever, or even young.

So, I propose we round up those
Who converse using poor asimile.
Those with not much more to say
Than “Like – Oh My God”, literally.
Off to the Gaelteacht with them, for about a year, or more!
Inane chat remains inane, but sounds better from a Gaelgoir.

Leader of our country up in his plane,
He barely feels the jolt.
A young boy heading home in the rain,
Killed by a single bolt.

In Limerick the crims make the headlines
With stories that could be termed deadlines
Guns, money and drugs
A new blood sport for thugs
Rules written using family bledlines

April.
Through St. Stephen’s Green.
Jaepers.
That’s One Bloomin Scene..!

On the bus to work – early morning
To avoid all the rush hour traffic.
Nine-2-Five takes more than 12 hours,
You do the mathematic.

In Ireland in the Nineteen Eighties
It was tougher to find work near home.
Most commutes involved planes and ships,
Emigration was the norm.

So when I take my bus – early morning,
Passing cars with only one occupant.
I think of Eighties style commuting,
It makes me far more tolerant.

Yesterday Bertie gave us his notice
And at the same time, his C.V.
Suppose that just goes to show he’s
Concerned with da legacy.
Many more qualified people, will make much more of dat,
I was switching radio stations, where the hell was Pat?

It was a good day to bury the bad news
Health, economics and such
With all eyes and ears getting a bruising,
Did he jump before the push?
Not walking the plank, as he is one, Pat had taken a case
And was busy in court for some reason, now this I had to chase.

It seems Kenny is staking a patchy claim
For a patch of land by the sea.
Like the travellers settled in Dunsink lane,
“I’m a millionaire squatter”, said he.
And so by breaking God’s tenth, and the trust of his neighbours
Pat missed the big story, the biggest in Ireland for ages.

Well, I just shouted stop, and it stopped for me.
No ticket required, we all ride for free.
Not too many passengers, sometimes I’m alone,
But I’ve got all the creature comforts of home.

With no driver on board, you steer with your mind.
Steering clear of the drink, ain’t easy you’ll find.
When approaching a bend you’ve got to take care,
You might end up back at number one square.

My journey has lasted more than a fortnight.
I’m not trying to be pious, or even forthright.
I just want to say – there’s a hell of a view!
How long the trip lasts? – I haven’t a clue.