And Then There Were Nuns

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Black hoodie, black gloves and a black balaclava 
Allegiances born of belligerent father
A council estate with yards full of tyres
A rucksack that’s laden with tin tacks and wires 

Cars outside boozers where loyalist losers
Don’t spot the briefcase with time delay fuses
One man and his neighbour of different persuasions
Soldiers and ministers weighing equations

Each side will tear you apart with their bombs
Some will send ‘letters’ to where you are from
Some cite religion or national pride
Or family honour when taking a side

Orange and green the colours of choice
BBC using an imposter’s voice 
Still the news media expresses surprise 
When pubs, cars and trucks light up the skies 

A town-centre nightclub to which people flock
Across the street came Messrs Browning and Glock
In hands now committed to unleash their guns
They fingered their triggers... and then there were nuns

                    ***

[During ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, whilst many individuals were targeted due to their religious persuasion, targeted attacks on any particular religious institution were, seemingly, rare. A lengthy chat with Mr Google named two Catholic priests who were deliberately killed, but only one nun who was killed when she happened-on-by a bombing; she remains the only nun killed (albeit inadvertently) because of ‘The Troubles’. ‘And Then There Were Nuns’ simply prompts the question (to which I have no answer) what would a team of gunmen do next if a group of Nuns wandered into their ‘hit’?]

Copyright © | Year Posted 2021



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Date: 5/21/2021 12:44:00 AM
One of the best and enjoyable, thought provoking political works, i have had the pleasure to read in years. Exellent.
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/21/2021 2:03:00 AM
Thanks John. So glad you enjoyed. I was careful not to take sides although back in the seventies my trip to the public swimming pool was cut short by an IRA bomb scare... damned cheek that! Terry
Date: 5/2/2021 5:54:00 PM
Hello Terry ... a poem to remind us of the ongoing division in Ireland. It appears to have gone quiet on our news broadcasts but I dare the fuse is still burning - very good poem indeed Terry - Lindsay
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/3/2021 12:35:00 AM
Thanks Lindsay. Not often I write serious stuff so this made a nice(?) change - albeit, when I came up with the title (as per contest’s remit) I had no idea where I would take it. I actually thought the title was amusing, but as soon as I’d written line one I knew that my ‘pen’ had other ideas. Thanks again. Terry
Date: 5/2/2021 12:24:00 PM
When I lived there, one of my friends was in an auto accident and hitch-hiked back to Dublin with a broken-leg for fear of what Protestants would do to a Catholic in hospital (I knew from personal experience how Catholics treat heathens in hospital!). It seems no one understands they are all god's children, and much prefer believing their god is totally incompetent and needs their help to make things right! Aloha! Rico
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Rico Leffanta
Date: 5/4/2021 11:22:00 AM
The Jews and Arabs also worship the same god, but it does not stop them from blowing each other up - and everyone in between, e.g., the IRA bomb which exploded between the wife and I at the Ideal Home Exhibition in London, 1978. They all believe in a god so incompetent that they must "do what is right!" Aloha! Rico
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/2/2021 2:32:00 PM
Blimey, you get about a bit. Regarding the God thing, I’m pretty well atheist, but if I’m wrong then the Catholics and Protestants worship the same fella. And I really don’t get that. Thanks for popping by, Rico. Terry
Date: 5/2/2021 4:21:00 AM
I get the feeling Boris would like to get shut of NI but the way it is I don't think the Republic of Ireland would want it anyway. Under the blanket of the Good friday agreement is still hatred on both sides and paramilitaries running drug empires and some rogues in the security services dont help, not a place I'd like to live in. Well written verse Terry, hope you've managed to sort out your garden. Tom
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/2/2021 11:48:00 AM
Thanks Tom. Trouble is there’s always someone with a big machine gun shaped spoon just itching to stir things up. Ain't gonna change any time soon. As for the garden... 18 tons of rubble out and ten tonnes of topsoil in and I’m finally ready for turf. So nearly done. Cheers, Terry
Date: 5/2/2021 3:04:00 AM
A very powerful and thought provoking work Terry. I love the flow and rhyme. Cheers - gary
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/2/2021 11:54:00 AM
Thanks Gary. As per the contest remit, it was all about coming up with a ‘good’ title and then living up to it. I actually find the concept intriguing as, in the described situation things could go off on all sorts of tangents... at least one of them too awful to contemplate. Cheers Gary. Terry
Date: 5/1/2021 6:10:00 PM
Interesting poem, Terry. I do think nuns are pretty much off limits. I know during WWII when the French nuns came to help the allied forces in Cannes, the Germans did not kill them and they were Godless.(the Germans)
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Daniel Turner
Date: 5/2/2021 3:01:00 PM
Many historians believe that Hitler and the Nazis intended to eradicate Christianity in Germany after winning victory in the war. ( taken from: Religion in Nazi Germany)
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Rico Leffanta
Date: 5/2/2021 12:20:00 PM
The Germans were not "godless"! Many are still Catholic today because German Catholics get more holidays per year than Protestant Germans! Aloha! Rico
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/1/2021 6:27:00 PM
It can be difficult to write about real times in history without causing offence to one side or another. Aside from my own teenage tv memories and a concerted internet search I claim no expertise. As such I found your WWII knowledge most enlightening. Thanks Daniel. Terry
Date: 5/1/2021 5:54:00 PM
An interesting history lesson in poetic form. I enjoyed this, Terry and I especially like the play on words in the title. Blessings, Kim M
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Terry Flood
Date: 5/1/2021 6:01:00 PM
Thanks Kim. My knowledge of the troubles is basically, images remembered from tv news when I was a teenager. The facts regarding religious killings are courtesy of Google. I’m most pleased that you liked this. Terry
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