In his seventies Liam become a little too fond of drink,
So much so that it affected his ability to think.
He woke up quickly on Boxing Day morning 2022,
And declared out loud that he was becoming a Catholic anew,
He shouted at the old bathroom mirror, that he was determined,
He repeated over and over that Catholics are good and kind,
But most of all they encouraged confession of your deadly sins,
So he decided to smile as he took out the garbage bins,
He kept walking and shouting and came to Saint Patrick’s Church Fairfield,
He entered, sat at the back and crossed himself and prayed to be healed.
He sat there all alone for several hours until finally,
A Nun called Sister Naomi gave him a smile that was lovely,
“I do not think I have seen you here before” she said politely,
Liam nodded and placed his hands between his knees and sat quietly.
After a few minutes of contemplation he began to speak,
“I need to make a confession ?” he said in a voice that was weak.
Sister Naomi said it was unusual but she would try.
“I make one condition that you keep to the whole truth and don’t lie”
“Thank you Sister I guess I should take a breath and make a start.
I promise to you Sister what I say will all come from the heart.”
“When I was about 10 years old I wanted some watermelon,
There was an old Chinese man who used to have a horse-drawn wagon,
He sold fresh vegetables and watermelon along our street,
I asked my Mother for a Shilling to buy that wonderful treat,
Anyway she said no and at that time her word was absolute.
So it was boiling hot Summer and I couldn’t have that cool fruit.”
“So what did you do next?” said Sister Naomi curiously.
“I stole a shilling from her purse and hid in the hedge nervously.
Of course she knew what had happened but I was still riddled with guilt,
We had trouble repairing the good relationship we had built.”
“The Bible says that stealing is a sin, said the good Sister,
Bad theives like you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven mister.
-
Author:
David Wakeling (
Offline) - Published: March 23rd, 2025 01:57
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 9
Offline)
Comments5
So much for confessing David.
Andy
Yes he should have kept quiet.Thanks for commenting
Ah and there we have gateway religion, scaling the fish even before their caught. And as the saying goes; “all’s well that ends well…” in this case obviously not. 🙏🏻🕊
Yes indeed religion can be a risk.Thanks for your insight
That’s a sad truth as humans are religious by nature; so it gets abused by those who find power in hand along its spectrum 🙏🏻🕊️
A rather severe penalty for a distant minor offence already paid for. And a judgement by given by a servant to God that should follow the scripture to judge not that judgement is God's alone. Now I have to be very careful not to judge this poem. Oh what the hell I thought it very well done with a great moral to not confess anything to anyone, just yourself.
Yes judging is a tricky issue.Especially when he clearly had a drinking problem and wouldn't take criticim to well.Thanks for your measured critique.Excellent
I can't comment on the religious side of catholic faith, but on th essence of this lovely write honesty does not always turn out to be the policy in any walk of life, enjoyed the read
Yes you are right.Thanks for your insight
You are very welcome
Excellent write David
Thank you
You're welcome
To be able to comment and rate this poem, you must be registered. Register here or if you are already registered, login here.