Stars in his Tears

(For Brendan Leahy)

Always the same -
The way one opens onto another -
Corridor after corridor,
I have been here before.
Not quite an ancient maze,
A modern one perhaps.
Still God's ways are not our ways.
The smell of disinfectants,
The buzz of busy-ness if not business.
There he is at last,
Sitting up in bed
Entertaining his visitors.
He smiles and greets us with a hug
And welcomes us into the forecourt of death
Where tears abound profound,
Unground and astound us.
Then, when we tell him it will be alright,
He pulls himself together
And talks of better days,
Of winning on the playing fields
And goal after goal after goal of glory.
He will make the most of the time he has left,
Will spend it with his family
And greet his friends with a hug.
We will remember his warm embrace,
The many times he made us laugh
And the taste of victory so sweet.
"Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we…
For tomorrow we…"
The old phrase sticks in our throat.

There were stars in his tears
When we left him.

^

Biography

I am a teacher in St Joseph's secondary, Fairview. I write poetry in both English and Irish. I edit the school yearbook each year and attempt to encourage young writers to compose stories, articles and poems. Some of my more recent Irish poems are published on the Arranmore website www.arainnmhor.com. My first book entitled "Still Point Meditations" is being published in September 2002 by Veritas Publishers