Eric opened up the proceedings with the song 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon. Then there was a Powerpoint presentation of photos of Peter from womb (lots of pics of Dee with bump) to present-time. Daithí and Bridget, who are Peter's god-parents read pieces that they wrote especially for Peter. Below is a pic of Daithí with his god-son.
Members of both Richie and Dee's family then read out blessings for Peter. Followed by myself and Dee's older brother Jimmy who read out two poems and then whole thing ended with Dee's younger brother, Shaun singing 'Imagine' with the rest of us chiming in. Really lovely. I am posting my chosen poem, by poet Sheenagh Pugh, below.I chose it with Peter in mind, but also thinking of Dee and Richie. For those of you who don't know them, Dee and Richie are some of the most thoughtful, optimistic and hopeful people I know. Precious traits that I know will be passed down to Peter too. A wise man (Billy Bragg I think) once said that the enemy of humanity is cynicism and I think he is dead right.
So this is for Dee and Richie who, just in their hopefulness, fight the good fight. I also thought you lot out there might like it too.
Sometimes
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don’t fail.
Sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war,
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can’t leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best intentions do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen; may it happen for you.
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4 comments:
another beutiful event we've missed because of the miles.
sally and i feel a great affection to your friends (of course, they're your friends).
as for daithi & bridget, as a godfather myself, it's a proud moment, isn't it?
i'm known as "the gafa".
i'm sure i needn't tell you, but i will anyway, take it seriously.
luv to all
the ben
Oh how I wish I could have been at Peter's welcoming party. It's sounds absolutely wonderful. I would have loved to have heard Eric sing "Beautiful Boy" and Dee's brother sing "Imagine" and also hear everyone talk or read their poems. At your wedding celebration, I loved hearing the speeches your friends gave. The Irish seem to have a way with words, which is a talent I wish I had. Thanks for sharing that blog entry.
Ceci
Thanks for sharing that poem, Kusi. It touched everyone at Peter's ceremony. It made me think that someday the sun could melt my frozen field of sorrow, too.
Dear Kusi and Eric, thank you for your thoughtful card. I received it today. I loved my Dad very much, for 96 years. He was a wonderful role model.
The poem you read for Peter's naming party was very touching for me. it was perfect for how I am feeling now. thank you for posting it. My nephew in Berlin went back today. please send me your address so he can mail you. he is interested in the two of you.
Love from Margaret Kildee
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