By The Shores of Tirnanog - A Modern Irish Poem in the Gaelic Tradition
Posted: Thursday, June 26, 2008
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
When the light
Shines just right
Upon your Ire hair
Is it gold or is it crimson
That I see shining there?
And the sparkle
In your eyes
Although this may sound rather odd
Look like pearls from the seas
By the shores of Tirnanog
Come my lovely Lady
And take me by the hand
That I may journey with you friend
Off to that fabled land
And lay with you
Upon a carpet
Of emerald velvet plains
And whisper songs of Irish lore
Into your Irish brains
Listen to my story
Of a princess long ago
Who looked a wee like you my friend
But then how would I know?
Still this princess was a beauty
Sought by noble men
Yet she had her Irish honor
That she swore she would defend
So not a one would have her
Until they loved her first
But their love came far too easy
So she felt that love was cursed
So how was she to know
When true love came her way?
Would she open up her arms
Or just turn and walk away?
Was her heart so sorely broken
That she would never know
The one that truly loved her
Or would she let him go?
Well as the story goes
The princess found a rose
By the shores of Tir Nan Og my friend
Where the turquoise water flows
And as she pulled the petles
And tossed them by the way
The sea washed forth a soggy man
And cast him where she play
She looked at him with wonder
Then turned to walk away
But he coughed and sputtered, Friend!
I've been sent to you this day!
So she sat her princess fanny
Upon a mossy sofa rock
And wondered if he told the truth
Or if it was just crock
Then he stood and bowed before her
And very politely said,
If it were not for the likes of you
I think that I'd be dead
For, I've been adrift upon
The Broken Hearted Sea
And cast about so many times
I know not where I be
Now the princess duely warned him
That he was upon the shore
Of a very enchanted island
The Island of Tirnanog
And if he dare deceive her
Or disturb her peace of mind
She might not find
To be so kind
But turn him
To a frog
Then he said with a smile
That lying was not his style
And if it was the same with her
He'd be a crocodile
For the sea, he said
The Broken Hearted Sea
Is not the kind of place
Any soul should ever be
For once adrift upon
The Broken Hearted Sea
The drifter has but one hope
And that one hope would be
That Destiny would cast him
Upon the fabled shore
Of that island of eternal youth
That Island of Tirnanog
But before a soul is brought forth
Unto that fabled place
That soul must have rejected
The entire human race
So either I am dead now
Or soon dead I shall be
Or maybe I've gone crazy
Upon the Broken Hearted Sea
Whatever be the reason
Of one thing I am sure
This broken hearted man
Has found a broken hearted cure
Now the princess
She was doubtful
But what was that he'd said?
Could she be sure
He'd found a cure
For the broken hearted dread?
Tell me! She said
What is this cure you say?
Has it healed your grief
And brought relief
From your wo begotten way?
Can it mend your heart?
And take away the pain?
Or will the cure
Be found impure
And leave one in disdain?
The cure is sure
He said to her
But I'm afraid you won't believe
So if I were to tell you friend
My words would you receive?
Now the Ire Princess nodded
And gave him a pretty smile
And ever gently prodded
Saying
You may tell me in a while
But as for me
I have some chores
To which I must attend
So if you cannot tell me now
A letter won't you send?
As she stood to walk away
He grabbed her by the arm
And said, Now listen to me
For I don't mean you any harm
By God you are an angel
Not of this human race
For your hair is gold and crimson
And your voice like satin and lace
And now I cannot leave you
Until I've kissed you in this place
No! She insisted
As she slapped him on his cheek
But when he kissed her again
She felt her knees go weak
And the next thing that she noticed
As he swept her off her feet
Was the look in his eyes
For he could not disguise
His eyes were filled with glee
Now the princess was in denial
As he carried her away
She did not think him serious
But thought the whole thing play
So when he laid her down
On the fields of clover green
She simply did the Irish thing
And let out an Irish scream
And he said, Now don't you scream
And I'll sing you an Irish tune
Of a vision given me
By the light of the Irish moon
Of an angel in the fog
By the shores of Tirnanog
No, a lady like an angel
And that angel lady is you
And I can say
In every way
That I'm in love with you
Oh no you're not, she said
As she hit him on the head
We may play
But don't you say
That you love me in any way
For love is a game
Of fortune and fame
And I'm not in love with you
So if you please
Greant me release
And I'll be through with you
I will let you go, he said
As he let her on her way
But you must know before you go
That I am not to blame
So run if you will
I'll follow you still
Wherever you may go
Yet before there come rains
To the emerald green plains
Your love for me will show
No! No! She solemnly swore
As she ran from the drifter
Filled with adore
Through forest and fog
And emerald green plain
And all the while
He called out her name
One day he came upon her
As she bathed in a waterfall
And after he had watched a while
He softly began to call
Yet, it was not his voice
That the fair lady heard
Instead she heard the sweet sound
Of a beautiful little bird
The princess looked quite puzzled
When the sprite little bird was not found
And to her surprise
She gazed in his eyes
As he made that bird calling sound
And as she turned red
From her toes to her head
She said, Sir, can you swim?
And when he said, No
She said, Oh, is that so?
Then please, won't you just jump in
Down by his ears
He proceeded to go
From his lofty perch
To the water below
And as he soundly landed
With a mighty splash
She said, Sir, please be so kind
As to hand me back my sash!
And when her silken sash he found
And started to retrieve
She kicked him in the hiney
And then ran off to the trees
And when at last
From murky waters
The drifter did emerge
His anger was vast
And his countenance cast
An uncontrollable urge
And when the princess
He had found
Hiding in a tree
He pulled her down
On to the ground
And held her with his knee
And lest he proceed
With his every need
She did what she thought right
And with the blink of her eyes
And a flash of light
She turned him to a steed
There now, she said
As she patted him on the head
And wrapped her sash around his neck
As clover he was fed
And then as if to prove to him
The master from the beast
She mounted up upon him
And then rode off to the east...
You still can see them there they say
In the emerald island fog
Where she rides old Drifter bare
Down the shores of Tirnanog
They say when she gets lonely
She turns him to a man
Then runs and says to him only
Catch me if you can
So perhaps
There's half a chance
Somewhere between man and beast
Old Drifter has a shot at least
For some good old Irish romance!
© 1995 Mark Parsec
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)This is my poem! Thank you for writing it for me. :)Your welcome, Princess.
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