Friday 31 January 2014

FOOTSTEPS OF MY PAST






(c) John Mayer





FOOTSTEPS OF MY PAST


'tis the green hills of Ireland that call me home
for they hold the footsteps of my past.
They protect the very souls of my ancestors
the essence of my being, my Mother's family.
She so longed to visit the land she called home
to feel the mists upon her face
and the wind in her hair.
She longed to walk the lanes her Mother did
as a young girl growing up in Clare..
to hear the laughter and the songs
the brogue that sweetens the very air.
She dreamt of peat burning in the hearth..
family she never knew, welcoming Biddy's girl.
She wanted to tell them her Mam never forgot
and that she was happy in her new land she called home…
that she and her sister, Molly, kept the old stories alive
that they sang the songs of their birthplace…
But it wasn't to be, my Mother left us too soon 
as her Mother had left her.
I will go home for you, my dear Mother
home to the green hills of Ireland you loved to call home.

 © Crissouli Jan 2014

 This was originally posted on another of my blogs, 
"The Back Fence of Genealogy"

http://thebackfenceofgenealogy-crissouli.blogspot.com.au/

 but it was suggested I post it here also.
I hope you enjoy it.

4 comments:

  1. Oh... so so beautiful Chris and resonates within my very soul. I feel that pull constantly... thankyou more than words can say.

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    1. Thank you, Catherine.. it is always something that I notice more in the Irish than most, even those of us who have not been born there. Whether the link is one generation or many, there seems to be this silken thread of longing to 'go home'...

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  2. Indeed Chris. My first visit happened in 1996 because I was teaching in the US, my daughter came from Australia to join me during their long "summer break", we both flew to Dublin to meet up with my daughter- in - law to attend a teaching conference at the UCD. I had done a little research on my 2x Great Grandmother from Clare and decided after the conference we'd head west to have a look around... nothing more than that.
    However, as the wheels hit the runway I burst into tears and was shaking all over... daughter took off headphones and anxiously asked what was wrong???... all I could blubber, through the tears, was... "I''m home" Now, where did that come from, I often ask myself... not from me because it was not in my thinking at all. Then as we toured Clare I never wanted to leave... everything seemed so familiar. One example was a country road just outside of Corofin which encaptured me... and was drawn to walk along it. Later to discover that this was the road which my Susan Kelleher certainly would have travelled on to get to the village... To me it's a clear soul connection, a "sliken thread of longing" indeed Chris.
    When you make that journey it certainly will be with great happiness in your heart and add balm to you soul... with the very best of wishes always and thanks for keeping the connections for us with "the home country".

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    Replies
    1. I'll be sure to let you know when it happens... Thanks for commenting.

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