We were on holiday in Northern Island, in a Nationalist area. while there we went to Belfast to see the house were my wife's father lived as a boy. On the way we passed through Unionist villages, with bonfires ready for the July 12th commemorations.


Cushendall 1998


All we had to understand
on John Bull’s other island.
Cushendall where we were
holidaying; and being English
our accents soon gave us away,
despite the Scotch - Irish descent.
That day we’d walked to the pub
to meet some friends for a walk;
when out came the landlord
and his wife – just for a chat,
saying how nice it was to have
tourists back, and we’d liked that.
Then our friends arrived so we
stood up, as habit said we should;
and so, it appeared that we had
‘only’ been waiting; then before
we knew – we were left alone in
the historic misunderstanding


© D G Moody 2022
(Image courtesy of Rossographer)







Poetry by D G Moody The PoetBay support member heart!
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Written on 2022-02-08 at 16:16

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one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
The clouds have parted, the fog has lifted! All is clear!
2022-02-09


D G Moody The PoetBay support member heart!
Thanks to one trick pony for the feedback it is much appreciated. I have revised the poem, in the hope of better explaining the circumstances. It was the landlord and his wife that (I think) assumed we were only passing the time until our friends arrived. In fact we'd been enjoying the conversation. Also, my wife has corrected the year - at my age I forget what year it is!
2022-02-09


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
I'm not sure I understand the sequence of events. Your friends were offended by your standing up, and saying you were "only" waiting?
2022-02-08