Happy Great Poetry Reading Day (April 28th)!

 

By Adam Sweet

On the twenty-eighth of April's gleam,

We honor words that dance and dream.

Through stanzas long and verses small,

Great Poetry Reading Day calls to all.

In gardens green or rooms so still,

We read aloud with voice and thrill.

Each line a voyage, bold and new,

Across the sea of deepest blue.

With Frost's paths diverging in the wood,

And Angelou's caged birds understood,

We travel through the poet's eyes,

And under their penned skies we rise.

So gather 'round, each child and sage,

The world becomes our open page.

For today, in verse, we all unite,

And in the poetic realm take flight.

Now let's conclude with a visual treat,

A scene where words and nature meet:

A peaceful garden where readers gather,

Bound by poetry, forever after.

Into Cool Water by Me

Into Cool Water, by me

In the heart of the wild, under sky so vast,

A spring whispers secrets of journeys past.

Its waters, a melody of pure delight,

Quenching the thirst from the hike's great height.

Nestled 'mongst stones where the green moss grows,

A haven for souls seeking repose.

Each sip, a revival, so cool and clear,

Nature's own essence, bringing life near.

As shadows lengthen and day gives way,

The spring's gentle babble seems to say:

"Rest here, weary traveler, drink your fill,

Embrace the peace that lies within the still."

 

"Women of Ireland", or "Mná na h-Éireann"

"Women of Ireland", or "Mná na h-Éireann" in Irish, is a beautiful song composed by Seán Ó Riada (1931--1971). The poem, on which the music is based, was written by Peadar Ó Dornín (?1704--1769), This video features the Gaelic lyrics. Below is an English translation, though there are variations (only the first two verses are sung in this version):

There's a woman in Erin who'd give me shelter and my fill of ale;
There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer my strains to strings being played;
There's a woman in Erin and nothing would please her more
Than to see me burning or in a grave lying cold.

There's a woman in Erin who'd be mad with envy if I was kissed
By another on fair-day, they have strange ways, but I love them all;
There are women I'll always adore, battalions of women and more
And there's this sensuous beauty and she shackled to an ugly boar.

There's a woman who promised if I'd wander with her I'd find some gold
A woman in night dress with a loveliness worth more than the woman
Who vexed Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone;
And the only cure for my pain I'm sure is the ale-house down the road.