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deirdre of the sorrows

by Peter Humphreys

on the mourning
of her trial
she walked on
willow winding
banks as crows
skit scattered
in the morning
dawn black flakes
of love letters
burned upon the
open fire and
as her foot
slipped slightly
down the gray green
clay of Éireann
the trunk split
its ancient length
and rendered forth
its ancient strength
her soul's return
unsparing

I am the daughter
of an ancient race
whose spirit knows
of no disgrace and
flows through fields
and factories
if you for a moment spare
raise up your head and
westward stare to where
my folk departed behind
your back without a
track the gleaming rise
of Erin's eye will fill
your heart with wonder
as rain on rain washes
away the stain of almost
forgotten plunder

I am those fields
I am the bog
I am the ancient
withered log
whose heart is
splintered sunder
I am the red haired
speckled dawn
I am the black haired
ancient morn
I am the mist
unsparing


12/28/2006

Posted on 12/28/2006
Copyright © 2024 Peter Humphreys

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 12/28/06 at 08:34 AM

Hi Peter. Diedre is one of my favorite Ulster tales. Conchubar should have kept his word, he would not have lost the beautiful Diedre...such a lesson there. Your poem is stunning, and that final line, "I am the mist unsparing" is simply massive.

Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 02/13/07 at 05:25 PM

There are many amazing things about this poem. One is the originality of it, and the singular voice it has, even within the context of the old tale itself. It is your voice, and right from the start, the "mourning" (one expects morning)--it is done subtly and songfully. That you can bring this figure so a live an into the present and lyrically invoke the sadness and beauty alive... this is the power. The last stanza is unforgettable and the strength of the voice that sings this song of identity... the "I am"s of this-- give me a chill of identification with ageless beauty and the true poetic thrill. It is in my favorites now.

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