Agnesenga by Oonah V. Joslin
Oonah’s mother, Agnes, was born in 1914 in Northern Ireland. Their neighbourhood, the Rectory Estate in Ballymena, was always a place where neighbours of all denominations lived in friendly co-operation with each other. Her mother made sure the children all played nice together, and she ensured that they would have knowledge, not prejudices, by taking them to every church in the town and explaining if it were needed what was going on — not why “they were wrong”. Their next-door neighbour was called Senga McQuillan — a nice woman and a good neighbour. This is what made Oonah who she is despite the ‘troubles’.
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You can find Oonah at http://www.oovj.wordpress.com and all the sites in the Header list, http://oonahs.blogspot.com/, at her former employ at www.everydaypoets.com, this autumn as guest editor at The Linnet’s Wings http://www.thelinnetswings.org/?pageno=1#, and as three-times winner at http://www.microhorror.com. Or you could just Google Oonah V Joslin and see what happens.
postcardpoemsandprose.wordpress.com 
Really lovely, Oonah. I particularly like ‘fed on tealeaves and a little gossip’ – what a great line! 🙂
marion
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Lovely poem and photo of Oonah and her mother. If only people could live by her mother’s beliefs. The world would be a better place.
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Love this poem from you, Oonah, and I love the explanation.
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“Bright are the berries, that make no distinction on religious grounds”
and as it should be.
Thank you for reminding me of the hedge of honeysuckles that grew along my Granma’s garage and the 2 kids that lived next door.
Words have a way of shaking loose memories and letting them float back up to the surface!
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I am glad I took you back to your Gandma’s — that’s nice.
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Love the visuals in this poems and hearing about the poet as well
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Loved the poem and the mental picture of your nanny doing what all our mammies did in those days! The photo is just how I remember your mammy! 😀 Our estate in Ballymena was the same as yours. Both denominations lived (and children played) together in harmony- just the normal spats that have gone on between children from time immemorial. My father also brought us up to respect people of other denominations.
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