Not everyone
From Northern Ireland
Is a potential threat.
(Know, what I mean like?)
Yes, occasionally, I will explode
But not like a misplaced reaper bomb.
I won’t go shooting my mouth off
And if I do you probably
Won’t be the target.
We can be a hateful, spiteful lot over here
But generally, we keep that barbed wire
And bullets, hidden behind
Our welcoming smiles.
Potential to let it all kick off.
Our temperatures are volatile.
As the local radio feeds us a diet
Of Bromide and anti depressants
So we won’t go off on one . . .
Boom!
Small mouthed and big nosed.
Stocky builds with a northern European
Love for sugar, fat and salt.
Hangin’ round bars and up entries.
Sure, only the gentry, solicitors, doctors, architects and the like
Aim for a different altitude.
Taller, leaner, well kempt skin
And ambitious.
Hiding, an equally different
viciousness.
viciousness.
Grabbing the ladder first, to get to the top.
Kicking other people off and out of the way
To have their day in the sun
And all this heat bestows.
So with my wee mouth
Big nose and excuse for a chin
I’m a cross bred tall hybrid
In need of a different ladder.
To clean your windows
And make you see more clearly.
And by the way, don’t call me “mate”
Mate. . .
www.randallstephenhallso gs.com
A northern Irish artist
How I miss Seamus Heaney.