Kayleigh Flynn, a radiant young woman of about nineteen,
Dressed in fine flowing Irish flax linen, her proud figure
Defined by the Iris print fabric that followed her fleeing
Frame. The beauty of traditions that once defined with vigor
Her ancestral heritage she seeks; her perfumed cleavage
Discreetly hidden; at bay – the devouring Celtic Tiger.
Adorned with handcrafted Ogham charms, rings, and bracelets, the image
Of faith, reason, civility and gentleness her
Exhibition when we crossed paths on the open road.
She recited me the rhymes and verses, poetry of culture,
Defined by sign posts and clear destinations; we strode
Onward together for as long as I could remember.
Her youthful resolve charging ahead for reversal, change
In direction, the restoration of moral decorum:
The Taoiseach, the unborn, families, ideas
to exchange.
“So I leave these shores behind and I’m on my way to Fordham.”
But I begged her to stay, the corruption in the West even greater,
I pleaded, so soon to corrode a dear angel like you.
Let us reroute to Phoenix Park, marry, and together
Bear many children and raise them in the faith of our homeland, true
Patriots, kin of valor; we will seek the like-minded,
And scrub away the filth and shame that leaves Saint Patrick to blush.
The devil would have you do as you say;
a country divided,
Dear Kayleigh Flynn, as her children are her only hope when aflush
With Spirit: her passion - given clear visions of liberating truth,
Taken not twice by falsehoods and progressive deceits;
Her faithful - guided by our venerable Mother, the Rose of her youth;
Her hands and feet - an emerald beacon to the world’s conceits.
Her rosy cheeks now streaming with tears but her mind could not be swayed,
She kissed my cheek good bye and then our separate ways we went.
For it was not by me but by her people that she had been betrayed.
To the open road she took, Kayleigh Flynn, change her sole intent.
Gary Edward Geraci
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Author:
Gary Edward Geraci (
Offline) - Published: August 6th, 2021 15:42
- Comment from author about the poem: My poem is written in the “aisling” (Irish for “dream”) and “…is a vision or dream poem, which developed in Gaelic poetry in Munster during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The aislingi present and personify Ireland in the form of a woman, who can be young or old, haggard or beautiful, lamenting her woes.” A Poet’s Glossary by Edward Hirsch. Ireland, personified here in her youthfulness, perhaps her once traditional youthfulness, by Kayleigh Flynn, a modest young woman who feels betrayed by the modern culture which so readily disregards the traditions and values that once defined her country’s true beauty. The “Celtic Tiger” refers “… to the economy of the Republic of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fueled by foreign direct investment.” “Ogham” pronounced “Owen” harkens back to an “… early medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language” and is often used, in modern times, to inscribe fine jewelry; “Taoiseach,” (pronounced Tea-zhuck”) is “…the Irish word meaning “chief” or “leader” and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the “head of the Government or Prime Minister.” “Fordham” or Fordham University is located in Manhattan, a borough of New York City and is home to the first Irish Studies program in the United States. “Phoenix Park” is “ … a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland” where His Holiness Pope Francis visited in August 2018 and presented a homily to coincide with the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families. “…the filth and shame that leaves Saint Patrick to blush.” A reference to the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis that has rocked Catholic Ireland over the past several decades. Source quotes: Wikipedia
- Category: Fantasy
- Views: 11
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Comments1
Did you meet her? Was you around at the time? heehee.
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