Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page
| If you have a poem you'd like to see published in The Irish Examiner then send it to:
The Poetry Corner
The Irish Examiner USA
1040 Jackson Avenue, Third Floor
Long Island City
NY 11101
or, preferably, you can email it direct to
ronniemcginn@eircom.net.
If possible keep your poem to 20 lines. You may choose any subject you like, in any form you like as long as it's original. We look forward to hearing from you. |
Our poem this week comes from Limerick-born Patrick C. Reidy, who now resides in Cork.
Patrick is the very popular Chairman of The Bishopstown Writers Group and is no stranger to literature in all its many forms, so naturally one would expect a very high standard from Patrick.
He doesn't disappoint. His well written poem embodies a meditation which reminds us that remembrance can be good for the soul and we can take solemn comfort in pondering the lives of those buried in hollowed ground and indeed from our own approach to life and death.
St. Patricks Limerick
Four fine stout walls this silent place enclose
Amid the wild flowers, grows a single rose
Granite flags stand sentinel by the way
Grey footpaths hid beneath the sprays of hay
Funeral cortege no longer this way plod
Those that rest here are long beneath the sod
Friends that visit are all becoming old
Keep fond memory of this cherished fold
Our Patron, Saint Patrick, came this way to bless
So we've told, by a tradition we caress
Beneath a pretty archway, waters ever streaming
Lies a crystal well with blessings ever teeming
The tombstones mark where all the loved ones lay
Some are tilted backward, others upright stay
Graves, much overgrown, their margins now are hid
Few now come with trowels, to weed the earthy lid
But those who lie here in this hallowed place
Are kept well in mind by those they once embraced
Many silver frames, or albums edged in gold
Show their lovely faces, prized with love untold.
With Saint Patrick now, they share a promised land
To ones behind in need, they reach a helping hand
'Tis faith and hope and love that keeps them in our heart
As the waters of the well sparkle onwards in the park
© Patrick C. Reidy
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