My father ,‘Aitch’, as I called him
for nuisance value, came from Ulster.
(Tyrone to be preciser. Dungannon
to be preciser still). Growing up, as you do,
it was clear the Ulster had troubles.
My father, who, as is stated above,
came from Ulster,
Tyrone to be preciser,
Dungannon to be preciser still.
Suffered from an Ulcer.
‘We have all got our crosses to bear.’
He told me on occasion.
Later it was strange to discover that an Ulster Fry
is very similar to a Full English
except with farls and other stuff.
Cripes a Gull!
In a dank, mildewed grike the bells either
ding, dong, or dull.
The last spat of evening hedgelights the sward.
Then, in the blank of an eye and a
flicker of wee finger
we hear us considering the climate of Sumatra
(a place that should rhyme with tomato).
Things get dafter and soon after
we settle on Java instead.
Soft verse for the rolling on day
rich corpulent berries:
shiny cherries make windows for
the platinum moon
and smooth lies curse yesterday’s
setting sun.