In ‘96 I crossed the sea,
To Ireland, a land of hope for me.
I dreamed of new starts, of life anew,
But the world here hardened, cold and true.
...
From toddling steps beside a giant's stride,
Sandy's warmth wrapped me, a Labrador wide.
In those young years, no words could replace,
The wag of a tail, the soft, friendly face.
...
Beneath a sky where crimson tears forever fall,
Where olive trees once stood as sentinels tall,
A land now fractured, burdened by the weight of strife,
Where innocents are robbed of home, of breath, of life.
...
Canzone for China: A Land of Welcome
I came to China with a heart unsure,
Fears of skies heavy with poisoned air,
...
Chance is a fickle, fleeting king,
Whose throne is built on dreams we bring.
Coins are cast, and hopes take flight,
In numbered stars on a restless night.
...
Rottweilers and the Fearful Eyes
Oh, Rottweilers, loyal through and through,
With hearts of gold and a love so true.
...
Scouser, socialist muscle. For the selfless, not the selfish)
Isolation On An Ireland
In ‘96 I crossed the sea,
To Ireland, a land of hope for me.
I dreamed of new starts, of life anew,
But the world here hardened, cold and true.
They called me 'Brit, ' with venom and spite,
No welcome, no warmth, just endless fight.
Sandwiches spat on, threats in the air,
Hatred around me, too heavy to bear.
In Dublin's warehouses, in a bookie's place,
Whispers and stares, contempt on each face.
The IRA's shadow darkened my days,
Death threats delivered in venomous ways.
'A crank, ' they said, when fear gripped my home,
While paranoia taught me how to be alone.
Each door I knocked, each job I sought,
Met excuses and lies, for being 'what I'm not.'
Teacher by trade, yet twice turned away,
'A late application, ' the lines they'd say.
But I knew the truth, the unspoken rule:
A Brit is unwelcome in their school.
I fled to China, to a warmer embrace,
Where smiles met mine, not judgment's face.
Yet Ireland called back, to the house I built,
But its walls hold silence, its air is guilt.
My in-laws' glances, brief and cold,
Questions asked but stories untold.
Ignored, forgotten, my son and I,
Under a shadow, we sit and sigh.
So we shrank back, grew quiet, unseen,
And they named us 'weird, ' whatever that means.
Each day blurs into the one before,
A prison of solitude behind my door.
My work is remote, my voice confined,
To the hum of screens and a fractured mind.
Outside the gate, the world feels stark,
So I stay in the safety of the dark.
My dogs, my solace, they hear my cries,
Their loyalty steady beneath my skies.
I speak to them, they don't recoil,
While loneliness consumes, my heart it spoils.
For I am Scouse, not the Brit they see,
Yet my passport brands this identity.
And though I long for a place to belong,
This isolation has silenced my song.
Why does solitude pull me near the edge,
Where dark thoughts bloom on a razor's edge?
Because in these shadows, I feel erased,
A ghost in a land where I'm out of place.
Ireland, oh Ireland, I tried to believe,
But your love was a gift I could never receive.
So here I remain, with my dogs, my pain,
A soul seeking shelter from isolation's pain.