Untitled
I came upon two crystal bells,
Across the street from Tir Na Nog,
In the place where some old lady sells
A few old dreams for new
A thousand years bore us apart
To Somerville from Dergderc's lough,
And though no star fell from above,
They made me think of you.
One of them wears Erin's harp,
A song of ages in my hand
On a shrine to our neglected Gods,
With the other, once it stood,
A fitting pair, if one were yours, but
The edge of time were yet too sharp, for
How could I find you in an earthly land,
Daughter of the oaken wood?
For I had been a ghost of Time,
Since everything we knew
Was cast unto the fields of Dream,
and strangers took our home,
My memories a silent scream,
Of horror at the loss of you,
A ship awash in ruined rhyme,
For want of my lost Eirinn-lohm.
But if I could hold you there and then,
As dear I hold you now,
I would not care for why or when,
Or dare to question how.
And on I ranged, through time and change,
But what has been, comes back again,
And on a Wednesday night, I met,
A lady of the Sidhe,
And so we talked of paths we'd walked,
And turned to thoughts of Home,
She said, "No sweat, we'll find her yet,
Your long-lost Eirinn-lohm,"
"You'll be my knight, I've seen you fight,
To keep the ways so long,"
And as I stood there, stunned,
She wove her hands, and, as I stand,
She brought you back to me.
So, far away, in a forgetful land,
I serve a King of Memory,
And that burden, is a Song.
And as I range, I'll see a change,
Upon the foreign lands we've known,
And though I've wandered far away
In service to a Faery throne,
It took your wildling eyes to show
That much is lost, but much remeains,
My long-lost Eirinn-lohm.
Across these farflung lands,
That crystal bell of Galway ice,
Fire-forged in claddagh-town,
Has come, by grace, into your hands,
Etched there is an old device:
The hands uphold the heart,
And by the grace of your good love,
The heart upholds the Crown.
So ring, mo seime'aen, time's wound is closed,
Ring, you who shed the sweetest tears,
Ring, dear quiet one, something yet endures,
Ring, and so begins my song, and
I shall be coming home ere long, for
Though yet apart, one tone we share,
For Fate has made a fitting pair,
Ring, now, and a soul, it hears.
And if I could hold you here and now,
As dear I held you then,
I would not care for why or how,
Or dare ask why again.
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain, 98.
It *does* matter.
Dark the House of Donn,
And fair Magh Mell be no less sweet,
And dark the house on Cypress Street
But light will break as comes the day,
A name lives on, though life has gone.
By the green waves swept away,
Not on the ground, he fell, nor on his feet
Great the loss but no defeat.
The sons of Paul will mourn, a Muddy Brook will say,
That a noble Heffernan passed this way.....
One may mourn a fallen brother,
And say one death is like another,
Sure, one is free, though one is dead,
But I would not pass from some white bed
If it's all the same to our dear Mother....
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain
bardic rap
It's all about choosing your own blessed face,
Wearing it with grace,
Carving out a place
There on the edge,
Thin end of a wedge,
Getting out of the Rat race, let me tell you,
Is digging the Whole *before* the cat smells you
At least you get to keep the Cache
Get out of the Weigh before the Scales crash
Got something to say about my Stash?
Cause I ain't been sitting here smoking hash
I been drinkin the Dream
Like a fifth of Jim Beam,
But this Chaser ain't all sour mash,
Getting off of the Rocks at the Fishing Well, too,
Straight up like a salmon leap,
Gonna lay me down some soul to keep
Cause I'm sick to death of Counting Sheep
So pray thee now the Toll is cheap
Gotta cruise the Crooked Mile
Take a hop across the Stream
Quickest way to change your Stile...
Better get with the Joke, 'fore the Jokers sell *you*
Moving it fast,
Makin it last
Lace up your hood,
Get into the wood
Cause it ain't much good to be understood
If you're standing proud,
But lost in the crowd
You got freedom of speech,
But they say life's a Beach,
And this Dog ain't allowed,
Gotta fill out a Form
Or shill out like Norm
And if those who been There would retrieve it,
If you don't mind my say-so's,
As far as a Phagoes,
Well, I say life's a Beech,
They keep the Nuts out of Reach,
So you just gotta Shake it or Leave it,
And those who can Bear will recieve it...
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain, 98
And so we talked of paths we'd walked,
And turned to thoughts of Home,
She said, "No sweat, we'll find her yet,
Your long-lost Eirinn-lohm,"
"You'll be my knight, I've seen you fight,
To keep the ways so long,"
And as I stood there, stunned,
She wove her hands, and, as I stand,
She brought you back to me.
So, far away, in a forgetful land,
I serve a King of Memory,
And that burden, is a Song.
And as I range, I'll see a change,
Upon the foreign lands we've known,
And though I've wandered far away
In service to a Faery throne,
It took your wildling eyes to show
That much is lost, but much remeains,
My long-lost Eirinn-lohm.
Across these farflung lands,
That crystal bell of Galway ice,
Fire-forged in claddagh-town,
Has come, by grace, into your hands,
Etched there is an old device:
The hands uphold the heart,
And by the grace of your good love,
The heart upholds the Crown.
So ring, mo seime'aen, time's wound is closed,
Ring, you who shed the sweetest tears,
Ring, dear quiet one, something yet endures,
Ring, and so begins my song, and
I shall be coming home ere long, for
Though yet apart, one tone we share,
For Fate has made a fitting pair,
Ring, now, and a soul, it hears.
And if I could hold you here and now,
As dear I held you then,
I would not care for why or how,
Or dare ask why again.
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain, 98.
It *does* matter.
Dark the House of Donn,And fair Magh Mell be no less sweet,
And dark the house on Cypress Street
But light will break as comes the day,
A name lives on, though life has gone.
By the green waves swept away,
Not on the ground, he fell, nor on his feet
Great the loss but no defeat.
The sons of Paul will mourn, a Muddy Brook will say,
That a noble Heffernan passed this way.....
One may mourn a fallen brother,
And say one death is like another,
Sure, one is free, though one is dead,
But I would not pass from some white bed
If it's all the same to our dear Mother....
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain
bardic rap
It's all about choosing your own blessed face,Wearing it with grace,
Carving out a place
There on the edge,
Thin end of a wedge,
Getting out of the Rat race, let me tell you,
Is digging the Whole *before* the cat smells you
At least you get to keep the Cache
Get out of the Weigh before the Scales crash
Got something to say about my Stash?
Cause I ain't been sitting here smoking hash
I been drinkin the Dream
Like a fifth of Jim Beam,
But this Chaser ain't all sour mash,
Getting off of the Rocks at the Fishing Well, too,
Straight up like a salmon leap,
Gonna lay me down some soul to keep
Cause I'm sick to death of Counting Sheep
So pray thee now the Toll is cheap
Gotta cruise the Crooked Mile
Take a hop across the Stream
Quickest way to change your Stile...
Better get with the Joke, 'fore the Jokers sell *you*
Moving it fast,
Makin it last
Lace up your hood,
Get into the wood
Cause it ain't much good to be understood
If you're standing proud,
But lost in the crowd
You got freedom of speech,
But they say life's a Beach,
And this Dog ain't allowed,
Gotta fill out a Form
Or shill out like Norm
And if those who been There would retrieve it,
If you don't mind my say-so's,
As far as a Phagoes,
Well, I say life's a Beech,
They keep the Nuts out of Reach,
So you just gotta Shake it or Leave it,
And those who can Bear will recieve it...
Robin Piper O'hIfearnain, 98
