Favorite Poems
Irish Blessing
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
Now sweetly lies old Ireland
Emerald green beyond the foal,
Awakening sweet memories,
Calling the heart back home.
Ireland, it's the one place on earth
That heaven has kissed with melody,
Mirth and meadow and mist.
Wherever you go and whatever you do
May the luck of the Irish be there with you
A mother's love's a blessing
No matter where you roam.
Keep her while she's living
You'll miss her when she's gone.
Love her as in childhood
Though feeble, old and gray.
For you'll never miss a mother's love
Til she's buried beneath the clay.
— Thomas Keenan
A Beautiful Day To Die
We all wish we could deny
That we have a time to die
A time to leave this earthly space
To say goodbye to human race
A time to leave our loved ones dear
This we all have to fear
But you can beat that old death game
By wishing not for fortune, fame
But wish instead for family, friends
Things like these will never end
When your time on earth is through
Think of all the things you knew
Say a prayer to the Lord above
As death comes like a soaring dove
Turn your eyes unto the sky
What a beautiful day to die
— Ron Wyatt, (grandson, age 19)
Galway Bay
If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,
Then maybe, at the closing of your day,
You can sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.
Just to hear again the ripple of the trout stream
The women in the meadow making hay
Just to sit beside a turf fire in the cabin
And watch the barefoot gossoons at their play.
For the breezes blowing o'er the sea from Ireland
Are perfumed by the heather as they blow
And the women in the uplands diggin' praties
Speak a language that the strangers do no know.
Yet the strangers came and tried to teach us their ways
And they scorned us just for bein' what we are
But they might as well go chasin' after moonbeams
Or light a penny candle from a star.
And if there is going to be a life hereafter
And faith, somehow I'm sure there's going to be
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven
In that dear land across the Irish sea.
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven
In my dear land across the Irish sea.
God made a wonderful mother
A mother who never grows old.
He made her smile of the sunshine
And He molded her heart of pure gold.
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks the fair roses you see.
God made a wonderful mother and
He gave that mother to me.
— Pat O'Reily
Scatter me not to the restless winds
Nor toss my ashes to the sea.
Remember now those years gone by
When loving gifts I gave to thee.
Remember now the happy times
The family ties are shared.
Don't leave my resting place unmarked
As though you never cared.
Deny me not one final gift
For all who came to see.
A simple lasting proof that says
I loved and you loved me.
— D.H. Cramer