ENNIS

ENNIS

BY

JAMES BREDIN

Ennis will forever be enshrined in my mind,

A small mark on the map from another place and time.

Memories dimmed by many years as though cut with a knife,

First seventeen years of love and laughter in my life.

In a town bowed down by poverty struggling to survive,

Back lanes of half-door houses waiting someone to arrive.

Narrow winding streets full of friends and farmers’ horses,

Pompous priests dressed in black who always walked on water,

And girls in long green dresses that came down below their knees,

Moving past on bicycles; boys waiting for a breeze,

And cows moving slowly herded down towards the water,

Where their blood will fill the Fergus from the houses of slaughter.

And the Christian Brothers School where Brother Brien taught,

No such thing as freedom especially freedom of thought.

We learned everything in Gaelic in the very ancient script,

Letters from the Book of Kells or some ancient warrior’s crypt.

Where are the guys I knew so well; stole by emigration?

Or shied from skirts that only hurt and joined some congregation.

And now the town is filled with cars and strangers wall to wall,

A noisy rush of foreigners in a one-way traffic crawl.

And people don’t have the time to talk or gossip half the day.

They’re in a hurry, got to scurry, got to make their pay.

And traffic lights with tourist types looking out from buses,

This madness of modern times, I wonder ‘bout the pluses.

OCT 31^ST,2012

YOU MAY NEVER DIE BUT THAT'S A LIE OCT 30TH, 2012

YOU MAY NEVER DIE BUT THAT’S A LIE!

BY

JAMES BREDIN

Your big forthcoming problem will really be your death,

I know; I know, you haven’t thought much about that yet,

And the preacher said you will go to heaven; if you are good,

But don’t show your disaffection with politicians as you should.

Therefore maybe you don’t need death with dignity any time soon,

Because you’re a good guy -- not some homeless criminal goon,

Not like poor Sue Rodriguez who was indeed very very sick,

There’s no need to think about this -- it might be some gimmick.

Do you think you might eventually get sick before you die?

Could it be a nice pleasant sickness before you say goodbye?

In Oregon they can have death with dignity before they go,

But not in Canada they say and this; you better get to know.

Oct 30th, 2012

DEATH WITH DIGNITY IN CANADA OCT 29TH, 2012

DEATH WITH DIGNITY IN CANADA OCT 29^TH, 2012

BY

JAMES BREDIN

If the church has forbidden death with dignity; what else have they banned?

Are pedophile priests still hidden in this multicultural land?

Are abortions allowed to kill unborn babies here and there?

Should I apologize for being so bold and showing that I care?

If the States of Oregon and Washington can change things around,

Should the other states and should Canada hear the campaign sound?

Could we all die in dignity instead of devastating pain?

I think it would be better to hear the death-with-dignity campaign.

If ladies can have abortions here and there; then and now,

Why can’t we have death-with-dignity instead of a pompous row?

Is it illegal or a sin or disgusting to talk about this?

Several European countries have it now, including the Swiss

OCT 29^TH, 2012

YOU TOO WILL EVENTUALLY DIE Oct 28th, 2012

YOU TOO WILL EVENTUALLY DIE Oct 28^th, 2012

By

James Bredin

Death without dignity is the fear of losing control,

To be totally dependent on others is not your goal,

Maybe for a long time before you eventually die,

You may be almost dead; you cannot talk or even ask why?

There is no suicide grey area -- it’s all black and white,

It’s a crime in Canada and a long legal courtroom fight,

But not in Oregon or Washington or Switzerland,

You can die in dignity there and they all understand.

Because here; death-with-dignity is hidden under the rug,

Where priests and magistrates and religious bishops all shrug,

You will not forget as you get nearer death, what this is about,

And a forthcoming painful death could cause you to have no doubt.

Oct 28^th, 2012

YOU TOO WILL EVENTUALLY DIE OCT 28TH, 2012

YOU TOO WILL EVENTUALLY DIE Oct 28^th, 2012

By

James Bredin

Death without dignity is the fear of losing control,

To be totally dependent on others is not your goal,

Maybe for a long time before you eventually die,

You may be almost dead; you cannot talk or even ask why?

There is no suicide grey area -- it’s all black and white,

It’s a crime in Canada and a long legal courtroom fight,

But not in Oregon or Washington or Switzerland,

You can die in dignity there and they all understand.

Because here; death-with-dignity is hidden under the rug,

Where priests and magistrates and religious bishops all shrug,

You will not forget as you get nearer death, what this is about,

And a forthcoming painful death could cause you to have no doubt.

Oct 28^th, 2012

DEMOCRACIES CAN CHANGE OCT 27TH, 2012

DEMOCRACIES CAN CHANGE OCT 27^TH, 2012

BY

JAMES BREDIN

If Pauline Marois can get death-with-dignity for Quebec,

It will then be provincial health and we wont be up to our neck,

Because, if she can do it, we can do it, despite Ottawa crowd,

While they scream that death-with-dignity is just not allowed.

How many times can we read their assisted-suicide stuff?

Both sides claiming that they are right and they’ve had enough,

From politicians and priests and judges who claim that they care,

And others who would go to Switzerland if they had the fare.

Our inability to change is a sign that something is wrong,

Like Sue Rodriguez, dying in pain and forced to go along,

If Canada is a true democracy; then why can’t we change?

If we can find a good political leader and why is this so strange?

OCT 27^TH, 2012

WE ARE ALL A BUNCH OF FOOLS OCT 26TH, 2012

WE ARE ALL A BUNCH OF FOOLS Oct 26^th, 2012

BY

JAMES BREDIN

If I live to be a hundred and five in twenty forty two,

Maybe we’ll have death with dignity then because I’ll be due,

But in the meantime, we have to submit to their foolish rules,

Humanity hasn’t changed much and we’re all a bunch of fools.

Where our Ottawa politicians tend to disappear,

Soft Federal positions, far away with nothing to fear,

Except that death comes a step closer almost every day,

And still they say, “No death with dignity for you. No way!”

These aristocrats on the top of the political pile,

Want to stay there as long as they can in that great lifestyle,

With no referendums, death with dignity or set-date elections,

They don’t have to worry because they make all the selections.

Oct 26^th, 2012

CAN CANADIANS DO IT? OCT 25TH, 2012

CAN CANADIANS DO IT? Oct 25^th, 2012

BY

JAMES BREDIN

Where do we get politicians with their feet on the ground?

Who think Canadian and are not completely party bound.

Who think death with dignity and not the abortion clinic,

Politicians we can believe in and is not the usual cynic.

Because they’re into human rights and Trudeau’s constitution,

And no capital punishment, lethal-injection or execution,

Soft judges and parole boards that almost empty the jails,

Or any left-wing ideas, notions or rules that prevail.

And then it gets worse because media moguls think it’s great,

Or a new drug-addict Insite free clinic without much debate,

Where judges are appointed from very secret lists,

Governor generals too so our new aristocrats persist.

Oct 25^th, 2012