POARTRY part 1.  PLACEBO EFFECT    (this is not the blues)

Ever since I came to the shores of Ireland I have lived in the 

exploited and abused world of Christianity, not knowing where I 

stood in Catholicism or Protestantism.

I always felt outside the realms of spirituality although I find inner 

peace in my art.  Poetry and painting holds the essence of 

enlightenment for me so let’s call mine poartry. On my trek 

through life I have found my own sense of inner peace reading 

poetry by Raymond carver, and others like him, where water 

comes together with other water for me is a very spiritual 

experience and in the reading of that poem I became the river in 

harmony with nature.  I am sitting there beside that river 

meandering through life, flowing by the rapids and along the calm 

stretches.  Through the words of Raymond Carver, I am one with 

the river (funi) as the Buddhist’s call it, oneness. I feel the same 

when I read Mary Olivers or Sharon Old’s Chezslaw Milosz or 

Robert Lowell or look at a beautiful piece of art by Van Gogh, or a 

piece that stirs emotion.  What was it that Robert Lowell said, 

‘language is the imperfection of art and we must use our craft to 

create something beautiful’. I have lived in Northern Ireland from I 

was a young boy, I have always wanted to put my Allegiance 

somewhere it was sore on my arse sitting there on the fence back 

and forth but it took all that time of confusion for things to settle in 

my mind. I’m not saying that any killing is right it is not right to 

take life.  All this trouble could have been over a lot sooner.  

Christianity always came across very negative to me and I think 

in this world of negativity we have to be very careful that we don’t 

get corrupted by consumerism I think the young people have lost 

respect because they are drowning in consumerism and there is no 

one left to help them.

It’s about time we wised up and stopped this disrespectful dog eat dog society we live in, it’s about time the government done something.  Christianity has torn this country apart and organised religion still ring their god damned bells.  I believe in most of what the Buddhist has to say at least positive.

My poetry and the poetry I read will be chanted like a mantra that finds my center. This is the way I have found to say my thing and be accepted in this world.  I believe everyone has got a story whether their directing a film by someone else it’s their slant they are bringing to the screen. There’s a little piece of them in everything they do just like there’s a little piece of you in everything you do, I want my poems to be like an everyday item say a tea bag, this is my tea bag and I hope someday you’ll lift it and read it and take my experience of that poem with you.  While you’re making that cup of tea remember we are the same kind of people.  What are the sayings, love like you mean it, dance as if no one is watching I could go on but you get the gist.   I dare you to tell them you love them, do something to let them know you love them, the beauty in life is we don’t have the answers and we don’t know what tomorrow brings so make the most of the moment.  as Jarvis Cocker sings go on and give it to her the next click of your fingers could be your last so live like you mean it, go on and give it to her it might just last forever you know it’s now or never, the birds in your garden are all singing your song. As I said before I dont have the answers to life I am searching like you.  I think the only ones with answers are those who have kicked the bucket passed away to the other-side however you want to say it.  I woke from this terrible ordeal (the stroke) with my friends and family around me I was lucky, get in touch with them now not tomorrow we don’t know what will happen in the next moment, poetry and painting is like that in fact all forms of art is like that an expression of our feelings a placebo effect.