wordflight

On the breeze floats a loud nothingness That greets waiting ears so eagerly Setting hearts beating to reminisce Valleys filled with fleeting melodies Up high in the cliffs of Donegal Down deep in the mist of Kilkenny Have meticulous bards chronicled Heroes' history marred by villainy Do you hear the fiddle's whispering Coming nearer as we assemble? What was silence is now flickering A céilí we will soon resemble Do you hear the bodhrán's playfulness? With each beat, the ear grows livelier Now let's cue that sean-nós gracefulness With the tipper's beating mightier! Do you hear the pipes of Uilleann Through glens and forests still echoing? Sure to bring tappin' from everyone 'Till whoops and hollers are bellowing Do you hear the notes oft glorious From the feadóg stáin—clear, effortless? Putting to shame dear, old Orpheus Even cold Hades would acquiesce Do you feel, in your bones, eagerness To go home and join the excitement? Clackin', tappin' to songs, treasonous And dance

Tá ón taobh amuigh Ag féachaint isteach Labhraíonn siad faoi Na scéalta sa teach Lonraíonn meangtha Cosúil le coinnle Níl ionam ach uatha Ina n-aonar san oíche Tá sé geal i mo chroí ‘Sea ag faire ar an teaghlach Ach táim ar an taobh amuigh Ag féachaint isteach

What if The man weren’t poor But he poured Through equality’s pores? What if He couldn’t soar? Not for lack of trying, but Because he was sore? What if He were stuck When he rowed and rode Down the road? What if He had traveled Through Vale, veil, and vail? Would you understand Then The sighs of His absent side?

Upon a green monadnock ‘Neath schizophrenic weather Is in my mind aye-padlocked Midst queries of time’s ledger Soggy fries made memories Quiche of a chilly nature Tortellini treasuries? Nah, cake was best I’d wager Raindrops like small sunrises Weaving down beaten walkways Fences, sunburn, surprises Goose bumps find their feet ablaze Pages of a chapter-book Ink made from broken hemlock Spilled in joy that overtook Upon a green monadnock

I see already in him the familiar resemblance: The great blue eyes of my father and his sister and mother, Each basic feature of the very face of my mother And her father, her brother and his son, and of my own face Mom and dad speak about the resemblance To my behavior at that age, except for his Flaxen hair he looks like me, and his sweet nature. I have to Tell everyone else that I am his mother’s brother. When did he begin trying to walk and talk, now? Has it really been a full Year since his birth? Where has the time with him gone? His food is now more complex with his growth. When will we see a likeness to his dad? What features of his father’s people will he get? What nature and interests will form? The familiar legacy continues in him, the infant. Our family legacy continues, I see in him Myself and my sister, papa’s great blue eyes, A face in which I see grandpa, my uncle, my mom, Together with my sister and papa, and my own face…! These roles of our family change; My

Fading stars like streetlights Satellite trolleys come alight Left behind in ruffled dreams Of wheeled, yellow regimes In a warming golden meadow Dappled in whites and yellows Where a creature of sure might Sits stretching in the morning light Shadows from dandelion sunrises Drown in emerald-gilded guises Rolling in from the north-south A delta at a river’s mouth Prowl, Mr. Lion, prowl Whose face could never house a scowl Through fields of gleaming dandelions Mirrored in the eyes of a dandy lion

I've also come to the realization that maybe it's just in our nature to behave the way we do. Look no further than the animal kingdom as resounding proof of this. Animals kill each other all the time and one can't seriously suggest that they themselves have also been conditioned by today's violent media in order to behave in such fashion. If you're going to go by the theory that implies that the only thing that separates us from the rest of the food chain is our superior our intellect and nothing more. Then our own behavior is merely a reflection of how every other species of life behave on this planet (at least in principle). Consider the following: 1) Animals fight each other over territory. So do we. 2) Animals fight each other over food. So do we. 3) Animals fight each other over mating rights. So do we. 4) Animals fight each other for the sake of establishing superiority over the rest of the flock. So do we. Sometimes I think to myself that this is the only

All is still as dry as tinder; Alas, after the wildfires in our home There is enough tinder that awaits ignition And we are still in this hearth of uncertainty I can breathe more easily But because victory upsets much of the population And I am still nervous at the resentment Of people who feel that they themselves won’t be heard. I won’t pretend that I am a perfect example Of virtue, I am also flawed, but I can’t take any more implacable contention Which he lit who was supposed to be responsible. I won’t pretend that I am a perfect example Of virtue, I am also flawed, but I want to resolve the problem, That we will unite against a worse crisis All seemed to collapse and naked despair And anger almost crushed me. I would not trust. I take little pleasure now, when many people Of this country feel some sort of soreness. Happy and contented people don’t become inflamed; Fear, anger, pain, and disappointment are All behind resentment, and I did not Want to listen and I could offer my

Between Imbolc and Lúnasa Marking the first summer day Lies ancient Lá Bealtaine At the first light of May The sister of Walpurgisnacht Celebrated across a sea By Irish, Manx, Galician, and Scot To appease mysterious aos sí Let primrose, rowan, hawthorn In yellow, shroud your door As you dance into the morn White cloth beside the fire’s roar When the embers die down low Round the cattle out to pasture Take the ashes as you go And good fortune will be captured A bheith idir dhá thine Bhealtaine

“You’d be pretty if you smiled” As if I hadn’t in a while Well, you would have a nice voice If your mouth stopped making noise