Velvet Fingers a collection of poetry by John [Jack] Byrne
Velvet Fingers Oh joy to you sweet daffodil with whom sunshine always lingers swaying and dancing on the breeze on stems of velvet fingers A sign that winter’s left behind bright colours are all aglow filling hearts with happiness across the valleys far below How great to see your comrades snowdrop and crocus too heralding spring and all her gifts white clouds and skies of blue A sweet taste of love fills the air and for sure it always lingers with trumpet sounds of daffodil on stems of velvet fingers
A Tear For Me I’ve gone now from where I stood surrounded by those of my kind felled by man for his own good my beginnings now left behind Once a tall and handsome tree my branches held the sky and sheltering creatures of the air I watched them learn to fly I’ve felt the rain upon my leaves where sunshine made them glow and welcomed the soft summer breeze that rocked them to and fro Alas no more I shall see the sky a goal for all like me and few among the humankind will shed a tear for me
Sweetheart {Acrostic}
Safe is the heart Where true love shines Encouraged and coxed by beauty Encased with lips so kind Tender arms to hold me Have so much love to give Every time you caress me All faults I’ll easy forgive Raise up all your glasses To love that’s safe in the heart
Lady Autumn
That capricious lady Autumn who is not one to refrain she comes to us in cloud bursts our rivers can’t contain Gusting our seas in anger which rush upon our shore swirling the leaves up in the trees and jiggles them to their core She even brings us morning dew and long starry nights hazel nuts and apple crops and end of harvest delights Painting the woodland pretty with reds and yellows and gold a lady we will forever love a story we’ll always be told
Sandman Flight I have once been a father to small children growing and blessed them sleeping without them knowing I tucked them in tightly with a kiss goodnight then watched them take off on the sandman flight With a suitcase full of wonder and warm smiling faces they’re carried through the night by a mind full of places Straight on ‘till morning around the milky way cherished be their dreams ‘til they reach the light of day
Canvas
You are more beautiful than the night where I look upon starry skies wrapped in dark and moonlit bright a vision as lovely as your eyes I gaze far out into this space where time goes on forever a creator’s work which shaped your face beyond all human endeavour Of all the stars that sparkle bright none shine as bright as you all gathered in the milky way your beauty still heads the queue Come the dawn this canvas wiped has such beauty faded away ? but I can sleep and rest assured you’re beside me night and day
Childhood Once upon a child in me in the days of long ago i gazed in awe at starry nights and the moon all aglow Inquisitive mind and childhood eyes all the wonders came to me great monsters in the shadows and the dragons in the sea I heard the banshee call at night with a cry to chill the bones and the wee folk on the mountain stalked the children home alone If the lilt was heard outside the door with the moon behind the cloud into the darkness you’d be enticed as the wee folk cheered aloud Heed me now and what I say if you crave your manhood years be humble as you go through life and the dark will bear no tears
Edelweiss
Here in the land of the Edelweiss that pretty white flower of love growing amid the ice and snow on the mountains high above. Gazing across those majestic peaks I clasp my lovers hand, before me I see the creator’s work in the form of this beautiful land Snow capped mountains fill my eyes with descending deep green pines. nestling between handsome log cabins a blue sky, and summer sunshine I stroll with my love in this romantic place, by a lake we stand and embrace, I tell her how much she means to me while soft kisses I brush on her face We confirm our love by a waterfall that tumbles down from above, here in the land of Edelweiss that pretty white flower of love.
Flanders Fields The fields are all green now and birds of the air fly where once it rained death from out of the sky There’s still holes in the ground where the soldiers lay who dreaded the thought at the dawning of day Perhaps it would be this day when many would die with none of their loved ones to say a last goodbye At the sound of the whistle there’ll be a mighty roar across no mans land most will see the sky no more The fields are all green now but all the world should know they sleep in Flanders fields under crosses row on row
Lions
Those who took part in the war to end wars we should honour their names forever remember their sacrifice for the freedom we share and for the lives they had to sever Think of the hardships that they endured and their struggle to stay alive imagine the carnage day by day and their effort it took to survive Awake in a nightmare full of despair hoping to make it through with friends all falling one by one fearful that the next would be you It is said they were lions led by donkeys that their Generals just hadn’t a clue as we ponder on those white crosses we’re assured that this statement was true They couldn’t have known it was all in vain for hell would come visit again twenty one years after the last gun fired the devil would rally his men
Around Us It’s said when it rains on Earth It is our ancestor’s tears tears of joy and sorrow shed in bygone years Some were shed for love or troubles no one could share but all were shed for someone perhaps a loved one in despair They say the sun’s their laughter and the stars at night their joy the summer breeze their smiles on every girl and boy The daffodil in springtime a lark’s song from above a whale chant in the ocean all reminder’s of their love So be happy in our thought’s of loved ones gone before they really haven’t left us just around us evemore
Greystones by the Sea
I Walk along your rugged shore and gaze far out to sea, hear the seagulls shriek and cry but there’s calm in me. In your very pleasant harbour delightful sights I see, the far distant mountains and Howth island scenery. The laughter of the children, as they play along the beach and all are safely watched within the lifeguards reach. I see lots of fishing men tending to their lines and witness that in Greystones the sun always shines. All pleasures of life are here, in this haven by the sea, there’s not a more precious place to bring a family. In the bosom of the east coast this jewel is to me the nearest thing to paradise that I will ever see. I praise your towns ambitions in what you strive to be, sitting on your shoreline seats enjoying my cup of tea, a dedicated people your success a guarantee that the world has no finer place, than Greystones by the sea.
Holocaust “We had laughter once” the old man said snow white hair upon his head but that was before the soldiers came for the young the old the sick and the lame They marched us all to board the train under skies all grey without the rain with guns and dogs they taunted loud broken men who once were proud Inside the carriage side by side young ones played while old ones died clickity! clack! the train rolled on another town passed another town gone Night now falling we come to a stop doors flung open from the carriage we hop soldiers with dogs bark fierce in the night sending each one to the left or right “You!, you look good” the officer roared I’m shoved to the right into the hoard while those to the left shuffled on past on to the showers and into the gas “We were a family once” the old man said snow white hair upon his head but that was before the Nazis came and murdered each one in Hitler’s name
Morning Out of the night comes my soul to seek a new day dawning, for I am loved with living to do at the edge of the woods is morning. Confined to the darkness in my life, your love has been adorning, and now this love guides me home to the edge of the woods and morning. I shall not falter, stumble or fall, for I hear your sweet voice calling, one step at a time into the light, that soft white light and morning.
My Lady Fair Deep in the caverns of my heart true love lies waiting there waiting until my search is done to seek my lady fair My path may be a difficult one with disappointment at every turn I’ll need to guard my affections least they fall by the wayside and burn I have always known my loved one in my dreams she comes to me but just as the dawn is breaking the birdsong sets her free I believe she seeks me only my true love for to share I know she won’t reject me something I could not bear So for now my search goes on true love’s still waiting there inside a heart that’s yearning to find that lady fair
New Beginnings As I look back at old Dublin city the tears well up in my eyes I’m leaving my native homeland, it’s green fields and misty grey skies. She can provide me with no employment or a shelter to cover my head, I can no longer earn my own living or cover my own table with bread. So I travel far away from her shores as my father once done before, I must search for new beginnings and doubt if I’ll see her once more. My heart is all heavy with sorrow as my Mother, she fades out of view I sense that her poor heart is breaking as she calls to me “I love you”. I’ve a job in Christchurch, New Zealand where I can earn for myself some pay, hoping I can belong and live again is all I want at the end of the day. Though I’ll be far away from old Ireland and beginning a new life from her shore, I will never forget that she’s waiting in the hope I’ll return once more.
Love’s Words Feel blessed as you walk through your lover’s heart thread careful while within hold her tightly in your arms in this place where dreams begin savour the moment you are together whisper love’s words in her ear all these days when you walk in love you both will never know fear
Lovers
I’m told you lovers from Erin’s green Isle a new passion you feel every hour and soon in the light of a lovelier smile you’ll forget the dear maid of the flower. Remember the time in Los Angeles shades when our moments blissfully flew you called me the flower of Hollywood maids and I blushed to be called so, by you. I taught you to sing and dance until you swayed to the light castanet I’d never allow you to roam at will or delight’s of those moments forget. although you’re a lover I fight hard to keep and you hail from that magical Isle I’ll hold you tight and with you sleep in your spell I’m forever beguiled
Peace Open your heart and welcome peace give it a home within feel the love throughout your being witness the healing begin Share your peace with all living things comfort those in need extend to creatures great and small no matter what their creed Peace for the captains and the kings and for those they seek to oppress peace for the freedom they’ll one day find when evil deeds find redress Peace to the wanderers who walk the roads for they may be troubled within share with them the peace you possess and witness the healing begin
Characters Thousands of characters in my head I need to get down on paper to create into words and sentences far better now than later Lots of A’s and B’s there too all mixed in confusion and haze C’s and D’s and plenty of E’s at the end I may have a phrase Rise my poor head from the pillow I must there’s no sleep to be had tonight pencil and paper have got to be fetched or my brains will burst or ignite From all these characters a poem may form it will be I who will give it life but my gravest fear in all of this will happen if I wake the wife
These poems were brought to you by an Irish writer John[jack]Byrne who hails from Newtownmountkennedy County Wicklow in southern Ireland a country rich in folklore and tradition renowned for it’s storytelling… The Poems are the sole property of this writer and he asks that none are reproduced from within without the express permission of John[Jack] Byrne © 2015