I bask in the Manhattan sun,
warm against my face
and remember Ireland a year ago
with Tricia and with friends,
and rejoice with Joel and Roja
whose promises drew us across the water,
and ache for Joe who joined us there
and today grieves his brother’s death.
Disparate feelings stir, mix, tug,
today, as every day. Life.
27 April 2013
Shire near the Hudson
On our final day in Dublin,
for this trip,
we visited St.Stephen’s Green
where we saw ducks,
busts of Joyce and Markievicz
a Boer War arch,
a statue of Tone,
reminders of the Famine,
and purple flowers.
St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin, Ireland
4 May 2012
Along the cliffs they stand
in silence:
watchers,
greeters,
sentries.
30 April 2012
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
After the wedding, we visited the Dublin Zoo.
It was cold.
It was cloudy.
We did not stay all day.
But we had a good time.
And there were purple flowers,
including these with their
little yellow helmets.
29 April 2012
Dublin Zoo
Ireland
We arrived at the
Garden of Remembrance in Dublin
almost a year
after Queen Elizabeth II,
our visit a bit less historic.
No wreath we brought,
still flowers greeted us
as we remembered
past people and events,
as we reflected on
courage and freedom,
and the costs of violence,
and the possibilities of nonviolence.
28 April 2012
Garden of Remembrance, Dublin
Ireland
While in Dublin waiting for
Roja and Joel’s wedding,
I visited Dublin Castle with
Tricia, Bruce, Nancy.
There I discovered,
artfully disguised as
miniature purple rabbits,
the guards who stand watch
over the Dubhlinn Gardens.
27 April 2012
Dubhlinn Gardens, Dublin Castle
Ireland
Behind Dublin Castle
lie the Dubhlinn Gardens.
In the Castle’s shadow,
by the Chester Beatty Library,
eels entwine:
Veronica Guerin is remembered;
members of An Garda Síochána
killed in the service of the people are honored;
and purple flowers grow.
27 April 2012
Dubhlinn Gardens, Dublin Castle
Ireland
