I’ve lit the Christmas candle,
As we used to long ago
When it shone through cabin windows
On Holly-hedge and snow.
In this fine new house they’ve built me
That is furnished rich and fair-
But I’m hearing now the breakers rolling round the cliffs of Moher,
And my heart is aching, aching for a breath of Irish air.
The wren boys on St. Stephen’s Day.
Went singin’ up and down
With their poor dead wren and thorn bush,
I heard them through the town.
But to-night down lighted city streets,
I hear the distant band,
And when’er they play ‘our own’ hymns or tune of dear old Ireland,
The poor old foolish heart of me is in another land.
‘Twas a lonely hillside chapel,
Where we tramped to midnight Mass,
With the flaring lights we carried
Throwing shadows on the grass.
But to-night my boy will drive me
In his grand new limousine,
And he’ll wrap my furs around me, proudly caring for his Mother,
And I’ll ride to the Cathedral just as grand as any queen.
Ah! No, I’m not repinin’,
And I love this wide new land,
And I’m proud to see the childer
Growin’ prosperous and grand,
But roots strike deep in Irish soil,
Old memories are sweet,
And to-night my heart is yearnin’ for the cabin I was born in,
And I smell the reek of turf-smoke driftin’ up the city streets.
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Comments
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Imaginative nostalgia?
Considering the fact that Alice Crist was only two years old when she emigrated to Australia with her parents, one can only assume that the imagery of Christmasses past, the Irish scene and the "homesickness" was fired by return visits to her birthplace during adult years or, failing that, by the reminiscence of her mother and/or father.
Either way, her yearning is expressed in a genuinely heartfelt way with a telling simplicity of style and well-crafted poetic form. -
Not of only a place, but of a time. This poem made me a bit melencoly. Of family that has been lost. Times where we would all gather around for love and laughter. All gone now.......
Willow -
Kristina - thank you for picking up the typos - they are now corrected. The word 'Childer' is correct.
I too like this particular poem very much - not only can I relate but I feel very deeply the reminicence of the lady, yearning for her homeland.
Von -
Your poem to me means that you are thinking back to when you were young, reminiscing your favourite memories as you talk a lot about your past. I sense a wonderful thought, a place where you want to be almost for eternity. For you this poem may mean something deeper. A time in your life where you go when you want to be alone, to think of all the wonderful memories you had and to keep them growing for a lifetime. I felt happiness, joy and fulfillment while reading this poem. Your poem made me smile and want to be there to feel that breath of fresh air of contentment. I did notice however a few mistakes. I just want to point them out to you for this poem to be even better than it is now. It is not much, but I just feel that it should be mentioned. "But t-night down lighted city streets," I'm not sure I really understand the 't-night' or if that is supposed to be there, 'to-night' has been used in the poem so maybe that is what was meant to be there. Also, you have "And when’er the play..." I think they should be there instead of 'the'. You have written "And I’m proud to see the childer" - was children or childe or child supposed to be put there instead of 'childer'? Other than that you presented this poem very well. Your flow was excellent and I like the way you set up your poem with each stanza having the same number of lines. My overall opinion of this is pretty good. You ended this perfectly. Your poem was very vivid in imagery as it felt like I was there picturing everything you said. If only we could live those days again, then everything in our world would be better and we would always be happy. A wonderful thought and you did an excellent job of portraying this scene. It was so easy to read and to understand. Many people I'm sure would have their own special thoughts of those memorable times in their lives. Your poem represented this very nicely. Good job.
May the colours of the rainbow follow you always.
Smiles always,
Kristina
Edited on Jul 18, 12:45 because ''.
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