Poetry

Harry, I love the Celtic poetry.  Do you usually visit Ireland when you go to England?  You almost have to, while you're in the neighborhood, huh?

Lyn, that's great news about your post office.  It's pretty scary anymore.  I think the only thing that people mail anymore are bills and junk ads, and maybe the occasional greeting card.  Email has pretty much replaced letters.

Denzil, it's not yesterday or tomorrow here right now, it's tonight.  9:29 PM.  I'll be going to be in half hour and the sun's probably just coming up in Cornwall.  Either I'm in the past or you're in the future, LOL

I feel I should have fore-warned all of the language content of my short story, but it was necessary to create the scenario.  If I offended, I apologise.

Harry

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Thank you Ruth. This is the first visit to Irland in over forty years, so Mary and I are really looking forward to it.  There are a number of reasons why we did not return.  I would have to explain my life story to enlighten you!

Briefly though, after Mary, bringing up four children, and I, a workaholic, we went into business.This was a great success, so we moved on to another venture. Australia suffered a depression, patrons expendable income decreased and we lost everything...new home, "shack", (as they're known here in Oz) on the beach...everything. Mary & I went back to work, saved hard, bought an acre of land with a ramshakle , uninhabitable cottage on it, which I  knocked down, and slowly built our current home...I mean I built it  brick by brick...equal to ten rooms in all.  I had not one tradesman.  I promised my children they would again have their own rooms...they did!

TRUE story

Harry

Hi Harry:  Wow that's quite an accomplishment!  My husband and I like to do the DIY stuff too, although nothing close to the scale of building a whole house.  We recently added about 500 sq. feet to the house, so that was an accomplishment for us.  My husband's very good at that kind of stuff.

I hope you enjoy your vacation in England and Ireland.  You had mentioned earlier that you'll be visiting Limerick.  We passed thru there on our way from County Mayo down to County Cork.  If you're driving around and want some neat scenery, the Blackwater Valley in County Cork is lovely and not too far from Limerick.

Hope you're feein good today, Harry.  I'm off to bed now.  Cheers, RG

EUREKA!..........BY JOVE, IV'E GOT IT!.............I have successfully quoted....(I think)

 Thank you Ron, I can't resist the opportunity to scribble.

Harry

And here lies another opportunity!

Harry

The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
Celtic Legend
Canto Three


The king’s son of three promised names
Nurtured fine and of regal traits
Was joined in shared foster care
Three young men of honour were they
Fer Le, Fer Gair and Fer Rogain by name,
Sons all, of the Champion, Donn Desa.
Conaire became possessed of gifts
The gift of hearing was the first
Followed by the gift of sight
Finally, the gift of judgment he acquired
And each of these he bestowed upon
Four foster-brothers, to live as one.

Conaire’s father, the King Estercel died
And as Erin tradition did allow
A Bull-feast was held thence to decide
Who would become Erin’s unrivaled King
He, that ate the most, then would sleep
And upon his body a spell was cast
The image of whom came to his dreams
Would be that of Erin’s king –
Great ruler of all the Celtic lands
Yet if the dreamer then disclosed
His knowledge of the future king
He then would die for any falsehoods uttered

On the Plains of Liffey rode four men
In chariots, rode Conaire and his brothers, three
All were called, the Bullfeast to join
And in his sleep, the Bulfeast Master ‘spied
On the road to Tara, a tall and agile naked man
And in his sling he held a stone
“On the morrow I will follow ‘ere you go,”
Spake the gentle, kind, Conaire
Upon his rising, to Dublin, in his chariot he would go
Where he witnessed huge and speckled birds
Great, and beautiful was their plumage.
And they, he followed ‘till his horses wearied

But the birds, with mighty wings
Continued but a spears-length throw beyond
Where Conaire’s horses could not go
From his chariot he alighted
Then, to follow into the sea
Even beyond the churning waves, went he
But the birds threw off their skins
And turned upon him with spears and swords
But one of whom, protected him and spoke:
“I am Nemglan, King of thy father’s birds –
Thou art forbidden to cast stones at birds.”
Conaire replied, “ I knew not of this, until this day."


This poem is based upon the Legend translated by Whitley Stokes,

I am currently working on subsequent Cantos...The legend is quite long.

Thanks for the author of the poem Harry.

I'm pleased your office is not on the closure schedule Lyn . It seems I missed the scrumpy and even more importantly  I missed the single malt last night---if I'd known you were all celebrating Lyn's reprive I would have joined in.  I've been offered two jobs for later in the year when I'm mobile again--so some good news at last!!  --I'm off now to welcome the rather impressive-looking Wolf!!

Theres some great poems on here!!!  

Sad but true poem. Not related to POE, but thought i'd include it anyway, not one of mine either, its one that does the rounds in the emergency services. Sorry if it offends anybody.

I WANT TO TELL YOU LIES

I want to tell that little boy his Mom will be just fine

I want to tell that dad wegot his daughter out in time

I want to tell that wife herhusband will be home tonight

I don't want to tell it likeit is,  I want to tell them lies

You didn't put their seatbelts on, you feel you killed your kids

I want to say you didn't ...but in a way, you did

You pound your fists into mychest, you're hurting so inside

I want to say you'll be ok, I want to tell you lies

You left chemicals within his reach and now it's in his eyes

I want to say your son will see, not tell you he'll be blind

You ask me if he'll be OK,with pleading in your eyes

I want to say that yes he will, I want to tell you lies

I can see you're crying as your life goes up in smoke

If you'd maintained thatsmoke alarm, your children may have woke

Don't grab my arm and ask me if your family is alive

Don't make me tell you they're all dead, I want to tell you lies

I want to say she'll be ok,you didn't take her life

I hear you say you love her and you'd never hurt your wife

You thought you didn't drink too much, you thought that you could drive

I don't want to say how wrong you were, I want to tell you lies

You only left her for a moment, it happens all the time

How could she have fell from there? You thought she couldn't climb

I want to say her neck's not broke, that she will be just fine

I don't want to say she's paralyzed, I want to tell you lies

I want to tell this teen his buddies didn't die in vain

Because he thought that it'd be cool to try to beat that train

I don't want to tell him this will haunt him all his life

I want to say that he'll forget, I want to tell him lies

You left the cabinet open and your daughter found the gun

Now you want me to undo the damage that's been done

You tell me she's your only child, you say she's only five

I don't want to say she won't see six, I want to tell you lies

He fell into the pool when you just went to grab the phone

It was only for a second that you left him there alone

If you let the damn phone ring perhaps your boy would be alive

But I don't want to tell you that, I want to tell you lies

The fact that you were speeding caused that car to overturn

And we couldn't get them out of there before the whole thing burned

Did they suffer? Yes, they suffered,  as they slowly burned alive

But I don't want to say those words, I want to tell you lies

But I have to tell it like it is, until my shift is through

And then the real lies begin, when I come home to you,

You ask me how my day was, and I say it was just fine

I hope you understand, sometimes, I have to tell you lies

Dedicated to all the PoliceOfficers, Firefighters, EMTs, Paramedics,

Dispatchers, EmergencyFlight Crews, Emergency Physicians, and Emergency

Nurses who deal with the tragedies of life and death. The saddest of all,

being those that involve children, and could have been prevented.