home page list of works

LIAM'S LAMENT

Red sun arisin'
O'er the eastern ocean
When I last caught a sight of you
On the horizon;
You were all in motion
'Til green hills hid you from my view.
Where were you going, Maeve Malloy, in such a hurry?
Had you a rendezvous upon the Rathlin shore?
Why did you leave me, love, my heart full of worry
And remorse for my false words the night before.

Grey clouds flowin' in
Over storm-tossed waters
While I searched high and low to find my dear.
What ill-blowin' wind
Has buffeted and caught us
In the grip of a dark, dark despair?
You must forgive me, Maeve, for the harsh words spoken –
'Twas the whiskey talking, not a jealous heart.
Now that the whiskey-jar and my heart are broken,
Come ashore and no more we'll part.

A black sun was sinking
Into distant mountains
When I came, tired and wet, back to my door.
Dusk was drinking
All Londonderry county
As the waves washed my Maeve up on the shore.
Come fill the tankards! Mine is good and empty.
I'll drown this loneliness in Ireland's trongest ale.
If I stay drunkard, love may never tempt me
To remember Maeve's face, so deathly pale.

I'll forget that I loved her too well.
(2006)
a black sun was sinking
photo by Stephen Alsford
Created: November 17, 2014. © Stephen Alsford