Accents

niallprideaux

My Grandma holds her accent in both fists like loaded pistols.

Between her lips and hips is the essence of Irish strength.

Her accent is like the Catholic and the Protestant at a 1700s dinner, Irish and English clashing together in a verbal battle, there is no telling my Grandma to be quiet. She doesn't know "quiet".

Her accent is a one size fits all,

"How are you" becomes "How ar' yah?"

"I'm good" becomes "I'm grand", and outside friends meet an intriguing dialect they cannot understand.

At family gatherings, the accents are like vines, thick and deeply rooted.

She waited long enough to be able to speak only to be branded gypsy because of her birthplace.

She learned a lot by having grandchildren, her voice is like a lullaby in the night

She has a somewhat charm to her voice, making vulgar words like "fuck" and "shit" sound like punchlines.

Even though she has refrained from adopting the native English sound, her accent is like an umbilical chord, connecting her to the Emerald Isle.

  • Author: Niall (Pseudonym) (Offline Offline)
  • Published: January 8th, 2018 20:10
  • Comment from author about the poem: fun fact: I'm 3rd gen irish, quarter. a poem dedicated to my loving grandma - compassionate and strong, with an accent to match.
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 11
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Comments +

Comments3

  • dusk arising

    Language, pronunciaton and grammar are a thing we are taught. Taught to communicate?
    Seems to me your wonderful grandma here has a way to communicate not only with words but more..... the essence of communication.... feelings.
    I really enjoyed your writing.

    • niallprideaux

      Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 🙂

    • Moom

      This was a very interesting read. Thank you 🙂

    • FredPeyer

      Hat off to your grandma! Do like your poem. Sometimes I get cell phone calls from a client on the mainland who is Irish. Am lucky if I understand half of what he says! 🙂

      • niallprideaux

        Thank you 😀 glad you enjoyed it!



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