Belfast

The truth behind the cosmopolitan city of Belfast is more than what meets the eye. The following was written after an inspirational trip to Belfast in 2006. It was a short one-day trip from Dublin with an excellent tour guide and taxi driver who made the trip an experiential one with their historical accounts and depth of knowledge.

Crowded City

Cosmopolitan tinsel town

Showcase of splendor

City of unrest

History of crime

Life of hate

Belfast!

City of Christians

Pledged to a God of Love

Living a life of Hate

Protestant Shankill

And Catholic Falls

Divided by the great wall

Built to keep apart

Seething hatred

From spilling over

Divided schools

Teaching children

Hatred before love

Fear before courage

Survival before all else

The war rages on

Blowing hot and cold

Preparing citizens

To live beside their neighbour

With fear in their hearts

Hate in their thoughts

Preparing to attack

Should the need arise

And so it continues...

Generation after generation

A legacy of hate

Lurking behind

The Cosmopolitan tinsel town

Belfast!