The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan

The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan is the author's third volume of poetry and, arguably, his most ambitious to date. Whether addressing himself to issues such as pandemics or the war in Ukraine, to more universal themes of redemption and rebirth, battles of the body and the bullying of the mind, Tiernan's observations go straight to the human heart, breaking down the distance between what is right from what is wrong, conveying it all in his unique and inimitable lyrical style.

From the Pen of William Tiernan

Mine is a hard hammering against the wall of flame.
The demon we must come to terms with and tame.

Where carnage can turn to courage.
Where anger can be dissolved of all its rage.
Where hope can turn over a brand-new page.

Let me try and sneak away from this same old rat race
Before the tears stay too cold on my face.

I came alive out of my lifelessness, to come around again to care.

A new day brings a new, raw hunger and thirst.

I must give the world my poem and my word
Without having to fall on my sword.

We all started out in life with a loving few
And now, we must live with an unloving crew

The heart can be touched by crying
But, the soul knows not of dying.

It's smiles we give and tears we fall.
We belong to the universal call.
We become a lot of what we find
And, even more than nothing of what we leave behind.

As time moves on and moments go by,
You become more conscious when you hear the human poverty cry

I write these words of wisdom
Like a vision, like a sage
And see the many sides of anger and rage.

The children draw the curtains.
Poverty draws the blinds.

I'm sick and tired of war and dying.
Sick and tired of hunger and homelessness crying.

I'm into me and I'm the whole world's lover
And, I know there are many mysterious things to discover

The road less travelled is the road best left behind
And, the better one, perhaps, is the one we've yet to find.

Existence is forever so short
But life, at times, too long.

Old fashioned, I might be but, most of the poetry nowadays doesn’t turn me on. I like the stuff to rhyme, while this thing of survival gets on my bloody nerves.

The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan
Poetry, lyric poetry, modern and contemporary, Irish authors
122 printed pages. Paperback
First published in Ireland, in 2022, under the imprint of The Manuscript Publisher
ISBN: 978-1-911442-41-7

About the Author

William Tiernan is a poet and author who resides in rural Galway, close to the Roscommon border. His writings reflect his personal experiences and convictions as well as strong ties to the community in which he lives, his identification with the place where he grew up.

Three volumes of his poetry have been published to date: Greetings from Guilka, Ballymoe (2016) and Bluesy Ballymoe (2018) and The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life (2022)

In 2014, he was National Winner in the poetry category at the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards, organised as part of the annual SiarScéal Festival in Co. Roscommon.

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