The summer is over end Christmas draws on
But still ever present is the warmth of the sun
Protecting the body from withering cold
And the sobering thought of our lives still untold:
Enshrouded in silence and solitude
My soul is deprived of its main source of food.
The house resides like a big, empty shell,
Enjoying the peaceful and tranquil spell.
Before the invasion strikes once again
Not space-invaders, but three formidable men.
Once again bedlam and confusion will reign
Michael about my blancmange will complain
Hugh wheeling and dealing and endlessly funny
Endeavouring to talk me out of my dole money.
Timothy so philosophical and sound
With both feet implanted firmly on the ground.
Hugh with his hair-brained notions and schemes
Of becoming a millionaire, he dreams
He could do it apart from the money he lacks
And there's always the problem of the evasion of tax.
All the comings and goings the tumultuous row
But what a vast improvement on the quiet of now.
So hurry on Christmas, upset the balance of time
Till we're all reunited with joy oh so sublime.
The keen observations of time that has passed
Mike has grown bigger and stronger at last!
That Hugh has not changed is clearly apparent
Wearing his spoils and distinguished with scent.
Banqueting and feasting like the ancient of Lords
Perhaps Hugh will sing with his ’discovered’ vocal chords!
An argument flares, who’ll win and who’ll cower
The subject of course is ’Who’s first in the shower?’

Oh the simple and unsophisticated joys of life
The family differences, dissonance, and strife.
But although it may appear uncharacteristically strange
There is nothing about this family I’d change
Unless by a magic spell and a whirl
Michael was transformed from a boy to a girl
But wait, I can see as plain as a blister
There’s only one thing worse than a brother, a sister!
But in truth I must take the time to say
That my love for my brothers will never decay.
That I would give anything, my life or my limb,
For any one of my brothers Hugh, Mike or Tim.

Sheila Sweeney (nee Brady) Circa 1981