E is for Enniskillen
People
often think you are clever and talented if you’re a songwriter. But that’s not the case. I think songs have already been written and
are just floating around in the ether, waiting for someone to pluck them from
the sky. And when something just blows
your mind, or seriously affects you, the songs come very quickly and
easily. I remember the ‘Poppy Day’
bombing in 1987. The things that really
struck me were the final words of one of the victims, Marie, and the amazing
heart of her father who was able to forgive.
The other thing was the poignancy of the fact that 11 people died at the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month. This song came very quickly
indeed.
Cold November, the sky is
touched with grey
Enniskillen on her
Remembrance Day
The dawn seems so peaceful
In this land scarred by
war
The soldiers in the
graveyard
Cry ‘what did we die for?’
So what did they die for?
A breeze gently touches
the street
Where later a village will
meet – to remember
Oh, Enniskillen, the world
cries with you
Footsteps echo in the
chilly Irish air
The sounds of morning are
waking everywhere
The children are laughing,
together in their play
For them it’s just another
pleasant day
Another Sunday
A broom sweeps the
conflict aside
Today wear your poppy with
pride. Lest we forget.
Oh, Enniskillen, the world
cries with you.
They were almost ready, a
crowd had gathered there
Then, with no warning, an
explosion pierced the air
And the soldiers cried
‘Why?’
As the dust choked the sky
‘Two wars of death and
pain’
‘Did we all die in vain?’
Did they all die in vain?
‘Marie, are you alright’
her Father cries
‘Oh Daddy, I love you’ she
sighs, as she fades away
Oh, Enniskillen, the world
cries with you.
The eleventh hour. The eleventh day.
The eleventh month. The
eleventh life slips away.
There is no comment to make here. Just the silence.
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