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Introduction

  Una Hora Menos, Introduction   This collection of verse commenced in April 2022 shortly after the publication of Faith Hope and Covid Diaries. It came as Covid was on the wane and we were beginning to mingle again. As a family we had formed a ‘bubble’ with our daughter and husband who had two young children who were frequently unwell and could not be exposed to the virus.   I had spent much, too much, time during Covid looking up property websites in Tenerife. We had sold our property in Adeje Paradise two days into Covid, but we had always discussed the possibility of buying a much smaller less expensive property. My wife conveniently forgot. But I did not.   By chance I discovered the perfect property, for me at least, for a reasonably small sum near the airport in southern Tenerife. It had views of the sea front and back, and overlooked the ninth hole of the gold course which gave unending enjoyment. The adventure of buying again lifted my soul and so verse flow...
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Contents.

  Contents   One hour earlier  Kyiv verses You have no idea May in Dun Leary Surprises One man’s war Train to Sligo Two terraces and a kettle It’s over now The last chapter One hundred thousand years ago Sitting on the soft sand Above the sea After we are gone The world will end Look beyond The early tractor The ferry glides Do not go worried  I would be mistaken  Sacrifice What to do? Christina McDonagh Awake The Angelus Bells Eyes look out The hill What kind of God Hurry my lover Quiet moments The dead Beside the grave How I miss Overnight Deserted September beaches The Queen is gone Rest now Westminster Verses from a beach She’s singing Marie Celeste Winding Road As long as thou canst We know not The exile Life is normal til it’s not  It’s a soft November Sunday A quiet prayer for peace in Ukraine There is a time Get out of my house If I December Sunday Forget your heroes Between the cries February 24th 19.09 hours  Hail Mary This plastic patriot Se...
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One hour earluer

  One hour earlier Here in Tenerife We’re one full hour behind Our dearest mother mainland But that’s ok, we’re fine.  They get up an hour sooner While we can party later It seems to work for us I’d certainly wager.  The Spaniards came and conquered The isles of eternal Spring But they in turn were captured By the land they sought to win.  Seven Magic Islands Gleaming in the sun All around the bluesy seas There for everyone. 
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Can I simply say?

  Can I simply say? Can I simply say? Thank you for this day It is a gift undeserved To find ourselves preserved.  There is a time to shine And later to retire To smell the roses in the shadows To fall in love with everything.  The cycle of life wheels round Brings us back to where we first begun If we get the grace to hold on To dance the dance and sing the song.  No need to be at every party If they really like you as they say They will find you drinking tea In the garden below the trees.  If we’re lucky we have given   Now’s the time to sit and listen  To the pigeon welcome autumn  In the hedgerow beside the meadow.  The thrusting trees pierce white clouds Drifting from the west untethered Welcoming a harvest weather Of welcome warmth on yellowed crops.  Time to bid farewell for now For no one knows what the future holds When we’ll come or where we’ll go We’ll take our leave in God’s good time. 
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The last Friday

  The last Friday The last Friday in August, deliciously cool Men have abandoned summer shorts.  It’s bright and sunny with a warning shot Seasons are slowly turning even when we’re not.  Leaves are dying on branches On boughs that bend like old Churches Moss adorns fallen trunks Shiny holly brightens the way.  Earthen paths with veins of old roots Shy blackcurrants just peering out Still green and red before maturing In harvest months lying ahead.   Turning yellow upon the bough Leaves taking leave and so Ferns dancing in the circus  Swaying in a leafy hollow.  Young mothers wheeling buggies Seeking sun on the other side Sheltered from wind by the hill Running down to a silver sea.  A time of babes and innocence The unstudied gift of insouciance  Days to be hoarded and treasured But spent freely, without looking back. 
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Sleepy afternoon

  If you can’t   If you can’t enjoy the summer sun On a late August afternoon When soft heat and a drowsy breeze Exile our worries and our fears.  When of a sudden nothing matters Quite as much as we had imagined  We can now postpone the urgent To another day or year.  Time sits still in listless heat Birds are silent, resting in the shade Angelus Bells sound across a sleepy glen Hours slip slowly by at siesta time.  We do not need to know today The future’s worries or predictions Grant us grace to love and live Embrace these precious moments.  Grateful for each grain of time More precious than a diamond Surrendered to the magic now No past or future matters. 
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