My wedding day ditty, for J & S
Wishing them well, so here’s ‘All the best’
With plenty of cheer
And a few glasses of beer
Great party is coming, there’ll be no rest!
*
They both look great, and that’s no surprise
With smiles so bright, like a bright sunrise
Much love in the air
In which we all share
May it live long and strong, and reach the skies
Happy Couple – Steve & Jocelyn
A ll these are used, when you decide to write
E ither short or long, helping a poem take flight
I nsert one at a time
O h, that’ll be fine
U se them well, and your words will shine bright
Cornelius Ryan was born on the 5th June 1920 at 33 Heytesbury Street, Dublin. He attended CBS Synge Street, which was across the street from the family home, before entering the Royal Irish Academy of Music where he studied violin, and graduated in 1936. Always interested in writing he sent plays to various theatres, but he had no success with them.
He moved to London in 1940, and joined the Reuters news agency the following year where he reported on the Blitz. Later, as a war correspondent with the Daily Telegraph he saw action going on fourteen bombing missions with the US Air Force. After D-Day (6th June 1944) he went with General Patton’s US 3rd Army as it fought its way through France and Germany to the end of the fighting. In the last few months of the global conflict he went to the Pacific and witnessed the surrender of Japan. While there he opened the Daily Telegraph’s bureau office in Tokyo, before moving to Jerusalem as Middle East bureau chief.
In 1949, after attending the fifth anniversary of the D-Day landings, he began the work that would bring him fame and fortune. Over the next ten years he interviewed soldiers, from both sides, citizens, resistance fighters and wrote his most famous book The Longest Day. It was published to great acclaim in 1959, and made into a box-office movie success in 1962 that featured a cast of famous actors. The Last Battle (1966), his account of the collapse of Berlin, and A Bridge Too Far (1974) the story of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden to seize a bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem were also well received. Bridge was also made into a movie (1977) which was directed by Richard Attenborough.
He moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut, and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1970. There he worked hard to finish Bridge, and was awarded the French Légion d’honneur in 1973. He died in New York on the 23rd November 1974. Apart from his name, the single word on his gravestone is REPORTER.
It’s conker time, and boys are swinging
My opponent’s ready, and slyly grinning
It’s a serious game
I take careful aim
Perfect contact, now my ears are ringing!
Cham-pi-on!
Playing conkers (chestnuts) is a fun pastime.
C an we do this thing? some people ask
O f course, yes, but it’s no easy task
V alue your time
I t will be fine
D itch this virus, then the mask
B ikes are brilliant, for getting around
I nspiring transport, but do not clown
K eep safe and aware
E nsure your care
S teady as you go, now roll into town
Filed under Art, coronavirus, covid-19, Dublin, Ireland, poetry, Sandymount Strand, Sport
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