Poem Of The Week ' Poem For The Boy' by Barry J. Ryan

Poem For The Boy

Dedicated to Killian who was born on Sunday 28th August 2005

to myself and Dragana.

Be a boy brave enough
To become a man
And relish the breaking of cloud.
Understand the sun inside
And the power
It has over an evening sky.
Learn enough
Not to be charmed by the world,
And feel in every cell
The utter improbability
Of your existence:
On the night before your birth,
Disconsolate as the empty spaces
Between buildings at 3 am,
This is all I ask.


Barry J. Ryan is 32 years old and married, he was educated in Cresecent College Comprehensive and worked as a development worker in northern Namibia for three years. Upon returning home he completed a Masters degree in Peace and Development Studies. He has since been working in the Balkans setting-up community policing projects for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and is currently completing a doctorate in political science in the University of Limerick.