O men from the fields,
Come gently within.
Tread softly, softly
O men coming in!
Mavourneen is going
From me and from you,
Where Mary will fold him
With mantle of blue!
From reek of the smoke
And cold of the floor
And the peering of things
Across the half-door.
O men of the fields,
Soft, softly come thro'
Mary puts round him
Her mantle of blue.
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From guest Fiona (contact)
Actually I believe the poem/song to be about child mortality in rural Ireland last century, and how the firm faith held by the Irish helped them to cope with the loss of their child. The men from the field's are farmers who get up before dawn to put in a few hours work before returning at the dawn (the peering of things, as shadows form as light of day appears at sunrise) for breakfast. The mother beckons them to enter gentley as the child(mavourneen)is dying or dead. Mary is indeed the virgin who will now take the child to heaven. Very moving indeed. -
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A good analysis I think Fiona but personally I believe the peering of things could refer to real creatures that roam around a farm (and the farm hands) looking through the top half of a door. Remember the door is likely to have been split in the middle so the bottom half could be shut to keep things in or out whilst the top was open to let in fresh air.
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This flow is beautiful! And I read the short biography posted and I started to think, "Man, this guy is my idol." And yes this poetry is beautiful. Im not sure exactly what this poem is about, but my guess would have to be that Mary is a women who takes in soldiers from the front. Or perhaps this entire poem is a metaphor towards the Virgin Mary, and the soldiers or "men from the field" are going to her in prayer or in mind during the times that they need comfort the most.
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