Manchester Arena attack: 22 killed at Ariana Grande gig by bomber named as Salman Abedi

Authored by telegraph.co.uk and submitted by Redivir
image for Manchester Arena attack: 22 killed at Ariana Grande gig by bomber named as Salman Abedi

And it's important to me that the poem is true to Manchester and its people, and we fight through these things with humour, as hard as it is sometimes. That's the Mancunian way.

There was flashes of humour in there because that's Manchester all the time, and it's Manchester even in its darkest hours.

The poet, originally from Tameside, said the poem was previously commissioned by a charity called Forever Manchester.

I felt quite calm actually, when it came to do it.

It meant a lot to me. I wanted to do it for Manchester. I didn't want to crack, because Manchester won't crack.

As a proud Mancunian, I was worried that I'd find that emotional, particularly when I mentioned my mum, who passed away a while ago.

Mr Walsh, who now lives in Prestwich, said he is often commissioned to write about the city.

He has also previously written a poem to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Manchester Arena two years ago.

In the north-west of England. It’s ace, it’s the best

And the songs that we sing from the stands, from our bands

Our inventions are legends. There’s nowt we can’t make, and so we make brilliant music

We make goals that make souls leap from seats in the stands

And we make things from steel

And we make things from cotton

And we make people laugh, take the mick sommat rotten

And we make you at home

And we make you feel welcome and we make summat happen

And we can’t seem to help it

And if you’re looking from history, then yeah we’ve a wealth

But the Manchester way is to make it yourself.

And make us a record, a new number one

And make us a brew while you’re up, love, go on

And make us feel proud that you’re winning the league

And make us sing louder and make us believe that this is the place that has helped shape the world

And this is the place where a Manchester girl named Emmeline Pankhurst from the streets of Moss Side led a suffragette city with sisterhood pride

And this is the place with appliance of science, we’re on it, atomic, we struck with defiance, and in the face of a challenge, we always stand tall, Mancunians, in union, delievered it all

Such as housing and libraries and health, education and unions and co-ops and first railway stations

So we’re sorry, bear with us, we invented commuters. But we hope you forgive us, we invented computers.

And this is the place Henry Rice strolled with rolls, and we’ve rocked and we’ve rolled with our own northern soul

And so this is the place to do business then dance, where go-getters and goal-setters know they’ve a chance

And this is the place where we first played as kids. And me mum, lived and died here, she loved it, she did.

And this is the place where our folks came to work, where they struggled in puddles, they hurt in the dirt and they built us a city, they built us these towns and they coughed on the cobbles to the deafening sound to the steaming machines and the screaming of slaves, they were scheming for greatness, they dreamed to their graves.

And they left us a spirit. They left us a vibe. The Mancunian way to survive and to thrive and to work and to build, to connect, and create and greater ― Manchester’s greatness is keeping it great.

And so this is the place now with kids of our own. Some are born here, some drawn here, but all call it home.

And they’ve covered the cobbles, but they’ll never defeat, all the dreamers and schemers who still teem through these streets.

Because this is a place that has been through some hard times: oppressions, recessions, depressions, and dark times.

But we keep fighting back with greater Manchester spirit. Northern grit, northern wit, and greater Manchester’s lyrics.

And these hard times again, in these streets of our city, but we won’t take defeat and we don’t want your pity.

Because this is a place where we stand strong together, with a smile on our face, greater Manchester forever.

And we’ve got this place where a team with a dream can get funding and something to help with a scheme.

Because this is a place that understands your grand plans. We don’t do “no can do” we just stress “yes we can”

Forever Manchester’s a charity for people round here, you can fundraise, donate, you can be a volunteer. You can live local, give local, we can honestly say, we do charity different, that Mancunian way.

And we fund local kids, and we fund local teams. We support local dreamers to work for their dreams. We support local groups and the great work they do. So can you help us. help local people like you?

Because this is the place in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place that’s a part of our bones.

Because greater Manchester gives us such strength from the fact that this is the place, we should give something back.

Always remember, never forget, forever Manchester.

grimkardashian on May 23rd, 2017 at 15:10 UTC »

A couple years ago I went to supervise some middle schoolers to an Ariana Grande concert. My niece is legally blind, so we got to sit in the front row. It wasn't my type of music, but I've never seen a group of little girls so stoked and happy. There were some older people in the audience but the majority looked just like the party I was with. I can't help but think of the happiness those girls were expressing and place myself and them at this scene in my head. It's terrifying and it's unimaginable to target that specific demographic.

I feel so, so sorry for each of the families affected by this, and for the countless young men and women traumatized by this event.

Andalyn7 on May 23rd, 2017 at 14:37 UTC »

More like: Islamic State takes responsibility for killing a bunch of kids.

Tough guys in that ISIS group.

Marmite_Badger on May 23rd, 2017 at 12:30 UTC »

You know you're on the wrong side when you take responsibility for doing something like this.