The Journey © Tony Fallon.10917

The Journey © Tony Fallon.10917


Remember the day so long ago we set out on our expedition
To sail into uncharted waters was our families’ tradition
You said you’d be mine forever I said I’d be forever yours
My promise hasn’t wavered my love for you still endures
When we started on this journey we often felt alone
Now our family is all around us so many fully grown
The pictures remind us of the memories we’ve amassed
And also remind us of how quickly years have passed
We needed the wisdom of Job and the insights of Freud
To keep this marriage of ours from being easily destroyed
We often drove each other crazy with our pains and aches
And during the first few years, we often made mistakes
But if you are going to be happy some sins you must ignore
Of be like other couples always angry and always at war
We each sacrificed to reach this really big milestone
The love we have for each other is now finely honed
If I’m away and think of you, my heart and soul are singing
To be with you is my most important reason to go on living
Whoever thought we would stay together for this occasion?
And have friends all around us to join in this celebration
And so we have gathered here again our vows to profess
And thank the Lord that as a family we have been blessed
So come join us at our Anniversary Mass and communion
And eat and drink happily and heartily at our family reunion

The Heart© Tony Fallon10917

The Heart© Tony Fallon10917

The heart you drew in my book was so finely traced
It looked like it was beating it wasn’t drawn in haste
You wrote the love in your heart would never be erased

I closed the book so quickly with my face turning red
If any other boy ever saw it I might as well be dead
They would surely tease me that we would soon be wed

But moments later I felt overcome with a feeling of joy
You could have chosen anyone but you picked me as your boy
The honor you had bestowed on me I could not openly enjoy

Yet this was awful sudden for a girl known as being sedate
We hadn’t even held hands once or gone out on a date
And I really didn’t want to be tied down at the age of eight.

I Wish © Tony Fallon 1/16/17

I Wish © Tony Fallon 1/16/17


I wish I had someone to love me to cook my breakfast and dinner
I’ve been alone for so long I should be getting thinner and thinner
But instead of getting thinner I seem to be putting on weight
I just can’t understand it I don’t put a big pile of food on my plate
Sausages and bacon may be part of our Irish tradition
But my friend Joan preaches against them for total lack of nutrition
She said in the morning I should be eating grain foods high in bran
And to stay far away from things that are fried in grease in a pan
Each morning I put loads of syrup on my pancakes and toast
When I go to the butcher I tell him I want plenty of fat on my roast
She said I should read labels for calories and other important facts
And try and eat apples and bananas instead of high salty snacks
Sure I never look at the labels I don’t pay that much attention
But she says if you eat salt it could give you hypertension
She recommends Lettuce and cabbage and everything green
Be incorporated into my afternoon and evening eating routine
She said I should drink water daily not less than two whole quarts
It really didn’t matter whether it was domestic or it was imports
She said there is far less sugar in Gatorade than in a bottle of coke
And if I ever eat a fried egg I should throw out the yolk
I use plenty of butter and lard and sugar whenever cannoli's I bake
Martha FitzPatrick always gives me slices of her famous fruitcake
I’m really a devil for sugary doughnuts and I love all kinds of pies
And when I go to McDonald's I put loads of ketchup on my fries
When I go to local Italians on my calzones I always get cheese
And I really pig out on the duck sauce whenever I order Chinese
One of my favorite places is wherever they have big free buffets
With plenty of chicken and sandwiches with loads of mayonnaise
I do like peppermint ice cream every week I have five or six cones
And whenever I go to an Irish store I buy soda bread and scones
Who could leave without buying some jams or marmalade in jars?
A box of Jacob's assorted cookies or a few Cadbury's chocolate bars
So that's the end of my story and how things are here in the States
Before I head off to bed I'll wash up the cups saucers and plates.

The little Children ©Tony Fallon 011218

The little Children ©Tony Fallon 011218

Many adults don’t realize you can be firm yet gentle

In your chosen profession of being parental

Many children grow up in settings that are wrong

Yet turn into adults who are dependable and strong.

Made to do the work and duties of adults

Frightened by curses accusations and insults

No matter how well they did they were corrected

When they should be loved they were neglected

Children who were hit without any excuses

By abusive parents dishing out abuses.

Being told everything bad was their fault

As an excuse for another senseless assault

Threatened that if they’d go outside and tell

They were disobedient and going straight to hell

Going to school and making up excuses

For all the many suspicious cuts and bruises

Held to obedience by only threats and guilt

How can relationships like this ever be rebuilt?

The love a child can have for them must be faint

And to forgive them later they must be a saint

On the air in America ©Tony Fallon11118

On the air in America ©Tony Fallon11118

It’s 40 years now since I first stared at a microphone

And started on a journey I had previously unknown

Little did I realize growing up as I watched the Shannon flow

That I’d wind up in America with my own radio show

For the Roscommon Champion I had been writing

And some of my poems people were already reciting

Writing I guess could also be classified as entertaining

But in the radio business I had absolutely no training

It was some time in February nineteen seventy eight

I’m sure of the month but I’m not sure of the date

The feelings I felt that day had never been surpassed

You probably weren’t born on my first radio broadcast

My show was a big hit with the Irish population

Soon I was being heard in Mullingar on a pirate station

The reception even in Roscommon came in first class

The neighbors listened Sunday before going to mass

I had a show Saturdays and more on Sunday afternoons

They loved the songs of Ireland and the traditional tunes

There was a charge for the All Irelands in football and hurling

We had to pay for it in dollars because we had no sterling

For two whole hours there was no music I did not spin any vinyl

People say they cried that day it was their first All Ireland final

Years have come and gone I’ve been on twenty different stations

I’ve introduced Irish music to people from many other nations

I’ve often filled in to do announcements and the evening news

And often I am chosen one to do the political interviews

I’ve also done country shows, disco, week end dance and pop

The studio is just up the mountain four miles from my shop

I haven’t changed much since I left Roscommon I’m still a pioneer

If you’re not Irish that means even on my birthday I don’t drink beer

The Cold © Tony Fallon11018

The Cold © Tony Fallon11018

I’d really like to fly home tonight

They say the moon is shining bright

In the Barnacullen valley

About a mile from the ball alley

They say the temperature is above freezing

Meanwhile I’m stuck in my bed sneezing

For many days I’ve had a viral infection

Almost since the day I got the flu injection

Everybody has different kinds of advice

I’m surviving on chicken soup with rice

The weather in New York is unreal

With snow and frost it’s hard to heal

In front of a radiator there is no romance

Like seeing the flame in a fireplace dance

And I’d love to have a cup of tea for a change

Where the kettle was boiled on a fire or a range

Then have some buns or currant cake

Like the kind my mother used to bake

Oprah for president © Tony Fallon 1918

Oprah for president © Tony Fallon 1918

 I couldn’t believe the story in the New York Post

 Oprah Winfrey who once was a TV host

Is getting ready to run for the biggest prize

With some resent results that would be no surprise

Since there is no reason to win most of the voters

Many go and vote often and are known as floaters

You can get foreign assistance that’s how the game is played

That sure is twist on the old saying ‘’they got foreign aid”

You can win Florida just on hanging chads

And spend hundreds of millions of dollars on ads

You can have meetings just like church revivals

And say anything that comes into your head about rivals

That is the present situation in the United States

Primaries start in two years I don’t know the dates

The prestige to the office be returned I deplore

Can’t we have great leaders like we had in days of yore

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