Brian P FitzGerald

My heart is held in icy grip
A biting wind now takes my breath
Along the path I struggle and slip
Before me dance the wraiths of death.
...

speaking of shocking things
as people do these days
i noted an incident in the centre last week
which really made my blood run cold
...

We gather today to wish you health -
Wæs hæl, wæs hæl a toast to all;
For you we raise a glass for wealth
A heartfelt toast that's not too small.
...

Spare a moment to salute the dead;
(Grieve oh grieve for victims who died!)
Facing religious extremists in dread,
For their god their lives denied.
...

The morning wakes: the sun’s misty rays
Touch yonder crest
Of Middleton Wold above the hazy vale
T’wards the distant west.
...

I Hear the Church Bells Ringing Now
- A Land of Milk and Honey

The bells now ring across the vale
...

I

No soul sees:
...

Where Moses Crossed the Nuwebian Shore


He ponders the tide caressing the beach -
...

1831

At my desk I sit and stare,
An etching, old, dusty and grey -
...

I hear the waves below the cliffs,
I smell the new-ploughed soil,
I hear the gentle whirr of bees
And watch the clouds pass me by.
...

So what is memory? Why so fleeting?
It catches the soul when time has passed -
Recollections so soft and warm,
But ‘neath the tree asleep she lies.
...

A murky mist now grips my brain.
My thoughts, they reel in mire so chilling;
My eyes see nothing but driving rain;
Despair is such, no hope instilling.
...

The freezing draught deeply bites;
A grey-robed priest now shuffles past
"Let us Pray" the rector cites,
My collar I raise, I glance at the words.
...

Ah, little woodlouse,
wood-rot emerging,
light-avoiding, damp-a-seeking
along the path you crawl.
...

One day soon, so soon, thought Poppy
I'll walk and walk on the moon with Moppy
"She's funny and strange! " said Poppy
"So weird she has three pegs for legs."
...

Through hopeless gloom and chill I stare,
With icy drops on branches wet,
No longer distant hills I see in sunlight glare
My memory dim, my eyes are blurred - and yet
...

I stroll along the winding track
That leads me down to Millington Wood;
The sun is warm upon my back -
I pause, and look where once we stood.
...

Poppy alone, so tired, so bored,
On the bench, shiv'ring and cold,
By all her lovely friends ignored.
'Poppeeee! ' - a voice so clear and bold.
...