The scene I experienced in February sent me back in time to 1922 and the start of the Irish Civil War. Ireland is still recovering.


innocence

coming from the Galway train
on a crisp winter's evening
standing upon the old Kings' Bridge
beneath
the Liffey flows
the sky is
almost a leopard skin
banding over
a full fast moon
grey black and
piercing white
as in the silence
stunning me to stop
by Arthur's place
the old James' Gate windmill
sail less but seeks to turn
in the luminescent night
you can almost hear
the shells in flight
landing on the Four Courts
one by two by one
that moment
when our innocence
was gone



Poetry by Peter Humphreys
Read 818 times
Written on 2009-08-10 at 19:40

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Doreen Cavazza
Your poetry truly touches the heart.
Very nice
2009-09-13


jenks The PoetBay support member heart!
a delight to read this.
i dine out regularly with irish friends and am always aghast to hear the stories.
i will always remember when in dublin looking at the post office walls.
i did bring home a picture of the long room :)
2009-08-14


Rob Graber
This drove me to do a bit of research. Wikipedia (s.v. "Irish Civil War") says, of the 1922 election:

The election showed that a majority of the Irish electorate supported the treaty and the foundation of the Irish Free State, and that the Sinn Féin party did not represent the opinions of everyone in the new state, but de Valera, his political followers and most of the IRA continued to oppose the treaty. De Valera is quoted as saying, "the majority have no right to do wrong."

When people engage in armed struggle in opposition to a credible election's result, times are bad indeed--and may be for decades to come... Gentle poem about a tragic situation.
2009-08-10