Category: Poem

A Summer Like No Other Has Come To An End
Kids Go Back To School At Last
To Reconnect With Teachers And Friends
Their Present Experience Now Very Different From Their Past
Some Too Young It Seems
Have Been Told To Clean Down Their Table And Chair Before Going Home
Good Luck With That
As They Bolt Out The Door
Into The Fresh Air, Without A Care
Excitement Echos Through The Air
Tinged With Fear And Uncertainty
For Where We Are At
We Are Navigating Unknown Ground
Let Us Hope They We Have Learned Valuable Lessons From Our Past Six Months
Spent In Captivity, Lockdown, Restrictions For You And Me
Let Us Show These Kids
That Life Still Goes On
Guiding Them Through
Leading By Our Example
Showing Them The Right Things To Do
By Maintaining Social Distance, Following Health Guidelines Laid Down
Wearing Masks Showing Respect And Care
To Our Old And Vulnerable Folk
Teaching Them That This Virus Isn’t A Joke
Grandparents, Some Of Them Childminders Too
May Have To Stay Away Again
Watching From A Distance Those Who Were In Their Care
Getting On With Their Lives
The Best Way They Can
So Much Has Happened, Changed For Every Child, Woman And Man
We Have Shown So Much Resilience And Strength Of Will Through These Difficult Times
And Can Still
Let Us Not Fail Each Other Now In Our Time Of Need
Pay Heed

“Do The Best You Can Until You Know Better
Then When You Know Better, Do Better”
By Maya Angelou
Americian Poet & Activist

Pauline Byrne 2020
website www.aguidinglight.ie
Facebook page A Guiding Light

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We Learned To Upcycle, Recycle, Reuse
Utilise All The Goods We Have Already Used
Left Lying Around
We Had No Way Of Replacing, Repairing
What Was Broken, Battered, Damaged, Hit In A Fall
What Were We To Do
We Looked At What We Had To Work With
And Created, Invented
Made “The One” New Again But In A Very Different Way
Isn’t This What Is Being Asked Of Us Today
To Turn Our Lives Around
Our Lives Which Have Been Turned
Inside Out, Upside Down
A New Challenge, A Way Of Changing What’s Been Taken Away, Damaged,Battered Broken, Hit With The Fall
Our Lives, Our Hope’s, Our Dreams, Our Fears, Dashed, Displaced
Our Backs Against The Wall
We Are The Thinkers, The Planners, The Doers
The Feelers, The Sharers, The Carers, The Pushthroughers
We Can All Help Each Other To Find Our Way
The New “Normal” Is To Show Up Each Day
And Learn To Thrive, Not Merely Survive
In These Days Of Unprecedented Change.

©Pauline Byrne 2020

Website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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By Staying Well Apart
Yet Closer Together In Heart And Mind
May We Never Take For Granted
The Toll, The Struggles On Every Level We Have Gone Through
Physically,Mentally,
Emotionally And Spiritually Too
As Life Outside Opens Wide
Phase Three Now In Place
But Not Like Before
May We Always Be Reminded What Life Was All About
Lived Behind Closed Doors
The Good, The Bad, The Happy, The Sad Times Were Spent On Our Own Or With Loved Ones So Dear
We Learned From Each Other How To Quell The Fear
To Quieten The Mind
To Know That Support Was Near
To Show We Were Brave
We Learned That To Behave Was To Follow The Rules And Guidelines Set Down
So We Could Each Help, Do Our Bit
Save Every County, Every Town
Every Man, Woman And Child
We Did Our Best To Keep Alive
Now That We Can Venture Further From Our Doors
Knowing From Our Hearts
That We Have Played Our Part, Right From The Start
As We Move Forward Reclaiming Our Lives And Livelihoods Back, Piece By Piece
Let Us Not Slack, Become Complacent In Our Moral And Civic Duty
To Self And To Each Other
Finding Ourselves Back There,
At The Start When We Had To Stay Apart To Keep Each Other Alive And Well
Let’s Not Go Back
Go Forward With Grace
A Smile Upon Your Face.

©Pauline Byrne 2020

Website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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A Trip To Pray
Is A Very Different Experience Today
Some Churches Opened Their Doors Wide
An Invitation To Come Inside
A Safe Place To Shelter From The Storm
For Some, A Place To Stay Warm
At The Door Hand Sanitizer Provided
A Way For Evermore ?
Pews Roped Off Social Distancing Being Maintained
Takes A While To Find a Seat, To Navigate Your Way
A Quiet Place For Peaceful Reflection
To Contemplate The Day
While Trying To Figure The Way Back Out
A Lovely Stranger Whispers In My Ear
“It A One Way System Dear”
One Way In, One Way Out
Just Like Life, I Want To Shout
As I Turn And Look Back
To My Dismay, She Is Busy Cleaning Away Any Trace Of Me Being There
Having Called In To Pray
Funeral Mass Attendance Has Been Increased From Ten To Twenty Five
Twenty Five Family And Friends Now Get To Pay Their Respects
Get To Say Their Final Goodbyes At The End
It Was Said That The Devil, The Virus Closed All The Churches Down
But Brought Them Into Every Home
Every City And Town
Mass Is Now Being Streamed Live Into Every Livingroom
A New Experience For Some And May Have To Be This Way For Some Time More
Churches Will Be In Phase Three
Allowed To Celebrate Mass With The Congregation Present Once More
Maybe In Small Numbers
Fifty Or More
We Just Have To Wait And See

© Pauline Byrne 2020

website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

Written 22nd May, 2020

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A Glimmer Of Light
Shines Through
We Now Know What We Have To Do
Hope Springs Eternal From A Well Of Knowledge, Power And So Much More
We Now Know What’s Needed To Walk Free From Our Doors
A Roadmap Provided, A Navigated Way Through
To Get Us To The Other Side
What Is Best For Me And You
Take Your Time To Think And Feel Your Way Through
What Works For Me
May Not Work For You
Respect And Understand The Choices People May Make
Actions They May Still Wish To Take
To Keep Themselves And Their Families Safe
They May Wish To Slow Down The Pace
And Not Venture Into Cities And Towns
Or Rush Back Shopping
Not Ready For The Crowds, The Queues,The Noise
Afraid Of A Second Wave
Prepared Or Forced By Circumstances Beyond Their Control
To Have To Stay At Home
Waiting Out Their Time
Living Their Life The Best Way They Can
You Decide For You
I Decide For Me
But Whatever We Decide
Just Be Kind, Feel Free

©Pauline Byrne 2020

website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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Times They Are A Changing
Never A Truer Word Being Told
As We Start To Walk Our Fair Land Again
Our Towns And Cities Of Green White And Gold
May We Never Take For Granted
Its Fields Of Emerald Green
Breath In Its Awesome Beauty
Take In Its Breathtaking Scenes
You Never Know What You Have Lost, Until Its Gone
Let Us Not Forget And Take For Granted
What Life Has Been And For Some Still Has To Be
Living Their Best Life Inside
For The Sake Of Me And You
We Start Back To Our World Outside
Yet A lot Has Changed
Still Social Distance Has To Be Maintained
A Meetup With Family And Friends Will Have To Be Thought Through
Not In Big Numbers
Maybe Four To Six, No More
What’s Best For Me And You
To Keep Us Safe The World Has Changed
To Keep Us Alive We Have To Survive With A Kiss Blown From Afar
Catch It ,Save It Up In A Jar
Until The Time Comes, Hopefully Soon
When We Can All Be Together In The Same Room
Sharing And Caring As Before
Not Like Times Just Passed
When We Had To Live Our Lives Behind Glass Behind Our Front Door

©Pauline Byrne 2020

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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Each Morning I Wake
Pen And Paper I Take
And Wait For The Words To Appear On The Page
They Are Held Deep Inside
Waiting For The Opportunity To Arrive
To Write Heartfelt Words
Connecting With Others While We Are Apart
In Mind, Heart And Soul
Fifty Poems Or More, Written So Far
While Staying Safe At Home
As The World, My World Implodes, Falls Apart
It Comes Back Together, Piece By Piece
Life A Jigsaw, A Puzzle
At Times To Be Endured
At Times Each Breath To Be Treasured, Savoured
A Reminder That What Matters Is Not To Count How Many Breaths We Take
But To Treasure The Moments That Take Our Breath Away
For Now I Rest
Doing The Best I Can
As I Wait For The Words To Form On The Page Again

© Pauline Byrne 2020

website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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Six Of Mc’Donalds Drive Through Outlets Reopened Country Wide
The Traffic Queues Were Round The Bend, For A Thirty Euro Max Spend
Some Even Resorted To Using Horse Power To Get There In The End
The Horse Patiently Waited While They Ate Their Big Macs
Then Trotted Back To Join The Traffic , To Find His Way Back
Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention, Its Said
Many Another Is Working, Scratching Their Heads
For Ways To Help Control This Terrible Dread
Machines Are Being Invented, Amended, Adjusted , Upgraded
To Suit The Needs Of Many
As Our Serious Ill Still Lie In Hospital Beds
Their Fight For Life Goes On
This Is A Time Of Great Change Happening
Some Have Found That they Are Happier Working From Home
Communications Through Zoom, Online Or On The Phone
No Long Commutes, Quality Not Quantity Time Spent With Family And Friends
For Them That’s What Has Come To Matter In the End
Others Don’t Have That Choice, They Are Customer Face To Face Led
They Will Be Encased Behind Glass Or Wearing A Mask
While Working On The Frontline
There Is A Golden Opportunity For Those Who Take The Time
The Thinkers, The Doers, The Creators, The Innaviters, The Push Throughers
Are All Needed To Answer Ireland’s Economic Unease
To Find Ways To Produce And Source The Goods We Need
And Not Have To Rely And Buy Them From The Country That Originally Spread This Disease
“We Are Ordinary People Working Through Extraordinary Times”

©Pauline Byrne 2020

website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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The Economic Cost Of The Virus Has Sent Shockwaves Round The World
To Count The Cost, The Loss Of Employment And Jobs That May Never Come Back
Needs Fiscal Support ,A Back Up Plan,
An Economic Stimulus To Cover All The Land, Every City And Town
No Where Let Down
We Have Your Back, We Need It Said
People Are Left Reeling In Fear And Shock
Time To Take Stock, The Aftermath Just Being Felt And Absorbed
The Pain, The Grief, The Loss Of Lifestyles Led
Or Just The Ability To Be Able To Put Bread On The Table
Now The Covid Payment Is In Doubt
It Must Be Extended, It Must Stay, Don’t Take It Away
Many Families Will Be Living On Or Under The Breadline
They Need A Leg Up, A Hand Extended To Them
A Compassionate Take On The Dire Circumstances They Now Find Themselves In
In Corona’s Wake
No Childcare To Be Found
Grandparents Have Had To Go To Ground
Minding Themselves ,Keeping Safe, No Easy Task
Staying Away, Not Able To Share The Financial Burden Of Childcare Costs Today
Some Are Not In A Position To Work Outside Their Homes
As The Schools Remain Closed, Their Young Ones In Their Sole Care
They Are Doing Their Very Best To Hold It Together
To Hold On, Stay Strong
So Lets Support Each Other, Do What We Can Do
Support Local Based Initiatives, They Are There For Me And You
When Times Are Hard And They May Be Too
To Lean On Each Other Is The Right Thing To Do
To Get Us Through Difficult Times Ahead
Don’t Feel Too Proud Or Full Of Dread
To Do What You Must Do
Pride Never Put Food On The Table, So Accept Help In Many Forms
We May Not All Be In The Same Boat, But We Are All Weathering The Same Storm

©Pauline Byrne 2020

Website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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We Are In Our Quiet Phase
We Are Pausing, Waiting To See
If All The Hard Work And Sacrifices Made
Will Be Rewarded
Will Be Enough, How Many Have Been Saved
Have We Managed To Totally Suppress, Depress, This Deadly Disease
Or Is It Just Resting, Waiting To Pop Up Its Head
“No Deaths Recorded To Day” The News Reporter Said
A Day Of Hope
This Does Not Mean We Can Take Our Foot Off The Brake
Hopefully An Ending Is In Sight From This Heartache
We Will Soon Be Able To Take Our Loved Ones And Friends
Back Into Our Arms Again
If This Keeps Going In The Right Way
Celebrations Can Begin Again
Cancelled Weddings,
Birthdays, Life Celebrations To Honor Those Who Have Died Without Us Being Able To Be There By Their Side
We Must Stay Vigilant And Continue To Follow The Guidelines And Rules Laid Down
To Stop It Now Would Be A Foolish Act To Make
We Would Be Jeopardising Lives
That Could Be Saved
We Have Absorbed The Initial Shock
So Pause Now, Take Stock
Re evaluate The The Cost Of Lives That Have Been Lost
To Honor Their Memory
To Show That Their Deaths Were Not In Vain
We Will Keep Doing What We Are Doing
Over And Over Again
Until We Are Reassured That We Are Winners In This Game

©Pauline Byrne 2020

website www.aguidinglight.ie

Facebook page A Guiding Light

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