Some see a Newry - nice, clean and neat;

They’re wearing blinkers, ignoring the sh*t on the street.

With this bold statement you might not agree

But have a look around - the sh*t is there to see.

 

Drunkards, muggings, stabbings all rife,

Sadly becoming just part of Newry life.

Gangs of local hoods and thugs,

Touting, wrecking, scoring drugs,

Theft, vandalism and much, much worse,

Every estate suffers from this anti-social curse.

 

“...There was never any of that in our day...”

And similar comments I have heard people say

It was always there - but you chose not to hear

These tales of local vandalism, thugs - and fear.

 

I’ll not be surprised, if this piece you dismiss

But deep down inside, why not ask yourself this –

‘I have lived in Newry for many a year

Can I deny the evidence of eye and ear?’

 

If you can, you possess a tightly-closed mind

To those who have suffered, you are being unkind.

If it does not affect you by day and by night

Why should you care about someone else’s plight?

 

Rose-tinted reminiscence has its place, I agree,

But stare out of one eye and one view will you see...