Sacred and Profane

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And we who span the great divide in lands across the sea, weep tears for those who cannot see the forest for the trees.

Few lines so eloquently sum up what it means to be an Irishman abroad. looking fondly at one’s forebears and their now divided nation, looking also at today’s fast-moving world, where outworn loyalties seem like a swarm of flies round a surface wound.

The Sacred and Profane title chosen by Terence Reid suggests that he, like many Irish people, sees the duality of everything, from ruins to marriage to miniskirts. He sees the humour in life (‘Cri de Coeur’, ‘A Nobel Pursuit’ and ‘Siren Song’) as well as the veiled tragedies of history (‘In Denial’ and ‘Fool’s Errand’). There are literary references to Yeats, Synge and Owen, and a tribute to John Betjeman (‘A Parody in Support of Slough’). The author’s Catholicism informs many pieces - in particular, the pungently ironic ‘Holy Hands’ - while the ghost of James Joyce can be detected in the beautiful closing poem, ‘First Love’, based on a winter’s tale from Joyce’s Dubliners. Finally, the author offers us two short stories of his own, tales of fond deceit and kindly recognition. Here is the still, sad music of humanity, lightened by laughter.