Campaign for Sensible Transport - The Monster's Coming

The Monster is coming

Eating up everything in sight, trees, houses even farms.

“The Monster is coming, the monster is coming” cried the boy as he ran from farm to farm. The people of the little village wandered out of their homes to see what all the shouting was about. “Lad, there’s no monsters around here” said the woman in the doorway. “But there is, the people of the city said that its coming here, here through the village and he will eat

up everything in sight, trees, houses even farms.” “You better stop him then” laughed the woman. “ No one can, he’s too big” the young boy replied.
“Go up the hill to old Ned's farm, if any one can stop the monster, Ned can”
the woman said as she turned her back and walked away.
When the boy arrived at Old Ned's place, a fine stone house built by his parents hands, surrounded by neatly painted sheds, slightly hidden by the mature oak and beech trees. Ned was standing in the shadow of a stone pier, looking down at a field of corn. Without looking in the boy’s direction, he spoke…
“We fought monsters in that field, we died of hunger in that field, we made money and then we worked for nothing in that field, with every dry summer and wet winter, we found a way of surviving…. .but this monster is different, I don’t know if I can…..”
Ned's voice faded.
The boy turned and ran up the hill… “The monster is coming, the monster is coming”
Edward Butler
Published on Kilkenny People 18.07.01