³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

I was not there to see it

As his broad black back,

In sunshine and showers,

Turned on the creased bronzed shoulders

Of the gurning, arch-browed statue

And walked up the white steps

Of some biblical temple in his mind.

Ìý

I wasn't there to see the shake in the deputy's hand

Though I was the first and last grain of sand.

I could not have seen

As such

For I have no eyes to see, no ears to hear,

No heart to feel or brain to understand.

I speak to you now as sunlight dappled on Cavehill

Through the stolen hours left by mortal souls to kill

I wafting over Enniskillen on across the tepid water

I am in a schoolyard fight; I'm someone's son, someone's daughter.

You can hear me in the stoppage in a widowed husband's speech

But I don't share his desperation, I don't beg, I can't beseech.

Ìý

No I wasn't there to see the shake in the commander's hand

For time is an even flow for you it's hard for you to understand;

I'm the past and I'm the present and in the shaking there was I and

It took all of me to die.

Ìý

I don't feel any pain

And I was there again in the cameras flashing

Over and over.

I am the rested hand now of a dial

Never more to click,

Just to sit.

Ìý

No I was not there to see it

Ìý

I was hid behind a wall by the shores of Carlingford Lough;

I was cradling my rifle'

I was in a state of shock.

I was looking at my father as he held me midst the dust

And the darkness started tumbling

And the pin of light just bust.

I was wearing red and black across the border to a game.

I was not yet born in Omagh;

I was still without a name.

That is why I couldn't be there,

Why I have no mouth to blame.

Ìý

No I wasn't there to see it I'm untroubled and at rest;

But some remnant of me sensed it,

and wished it all the best.

Ìý

By Sean Mullin

Al Smyth - Reflections
Alice McGuiness - Each and Every One of Us
Anonymous - Trish and Jo on the Hugo Show
Anonymous - The Cat's Prayer
Anonymous - Radio Ulster Prayer
Anonymous - The Hairdresser's Prayer
Carolann North - Drinking by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Colin T Mercer - How I Start Each Day
Dan Eggs - Work
Daniel Egede - Work
Edward Robinson - Knackered
Emma Jones - The Storm
Emma Jones - Working
Geraldine McMullan - The Plumber's Daughter
Jean Vance - A Silent Cry
Jennifer M Frew - Serenity
Louise Mercer - Birds
Paul Jeffcutt - In Employment
Peter King - Rathlin
Neil Joseph Burns - On A Girl Trying to Maintain Her Dignity
Neil Joseph Burns - The Night Weaver
Sean Mullin - 3722
Steve Ormsby - To War, To Death
Vincent Marmion - At the Bar
Vincent Marmion - Overpowering
Vincent Marmion - The Party After the Funeral

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ will showcase as many of your submissions as possible but we cannot guarantee that all submissions will be published.