Jimmy McAnee

[dedalus]

Young Jimmy McAnee

was a child young and free,

a child who ran faster than goats,

climbing, scrabbling, beeehhh

Ohh, beeehhh breaths young Jimmy,

Oh na beeehh arís bleat the goats,

for even the goats spoke pure Irish then

on the slopes of Carraig n'Chree.

 

To the east there were the hills

and to the west there was the rolling sea,

with the green fields sloping down between them.

No easy life, I fear, but never unpleasant

with harvest fairs and dances, storytellers,

poets, a sense of ourselves, pride in who we were,

bits of bad but mostly good, our lives,

the way we’d been living for 2000 years

since the days of Cuchulainn.

 

Then they came in.

 

They destroyed us, or intended to,

and nearly succeeded.

[tonyv]

A true celebration of home, Brendan. Filled with enduring appreciation and unwavering pride. Loved it.

 

Tony

[fdelano]

Young Jimmy McAnee

was a child young and free,

a child who ran faster than goats,

climbing, scrabbling, beeehhh

Ohh, beeehhh breaths young Jimmy,

Oh na beeehh arís bleat the goats,

for even the goats spoke pure Irish then

on the slopes of Carraig n'Chree.

 

To the east there were the hills

and to the west there was the rolling sea,

with the green fields sloping down between them.

No easy life, I fear, but never unpleasant

with harvest fairs and dances, storytellers,

poets, a sense of ourselves, pride in who we were,

bits of bad but mostly good, our lives,

the way we'd been living for 2000 years

since the days of Cuchulainn.

 

Then they came in.

 

They destroyed us, or intended to,

and nearly succeeded.

 

Some cultures ought to be forever, especially those that breed and foster poets. Thank you for this.

fdh