At Sullivans Cafe (a villanelle)

At Sullivans Café (villanelle)

Remember sitting around the table,
Hanging out at Sullivans Cafe,
You and John and Victoria and me?

We'd talk of politics and war.
What we would do to save the world,
Remember sitting around the table?

Our voices rose in excitement
The drinks flowed fast and free,
You and John and Victoria and me.

Sometimes others joined in with us.
Opinions argued debated free,
Remember sitting around the table?

We didn’t always agree on things.
But the friendship remained true,
You and John and Victoria and me.

Time moved on. Now we're fifty something,
John passed away but still with us even now.
Remember sitting around the table,
You and John and Victoria and me?

Prayers

PRAYERS

You say you will pray for me
Because I attend no church
That I have no god to save me
No hope for eternal life.

I say my church is the mother earth
Who nourishes our bodies and souls,
With food and water,
With the sun and moon.

My prayers are the songs of the bird,
The rain drops that feed the earth,
The chirps of the crickets at night,
The sound of a baby’s first cry.

My salvation is the wing of the bird
As it flies across the blue white skies
It is in the fire of the sun
That warms our earth each day.

My soul is hope, my prayer is peace,
My salvation is love for the human race,
My prayer is that mother earth will
Continue to care for us even while we destroy her.

Erin Go Bragh

Erin Go Bragh

My mother wasn’t born in Ireland,
But Ireland is in her blood,
The legacy of her father,
And his father before him.

The songs of Ireland were shared,
My youth shaped by graceful lyrics,
Lilting notes of lullabies,
As me mother sang me off to sleep.

(sing)
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby."

And the melancholy melodies,
Would fill the Irish heart.
Yet their lilting laughter,
Could lift you and carry you away.

Ah, yes, the Irish have the fighting spirit,
Yet, the drink moves them to sing,
Of Kilgary Mountain or Lanigans ball,
With a song in their heart and tear drop in their eye.

(sing)
When Irish eyes are laughing
All the world seems bright and gay,
And when Irish eyes are crying,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

But, aye, they could dance
The Irish jig to hearty tunes,
While the penny whistle bands,
Kept their feet a-flying high.

And, aye, the Irish are sentimental,
For their hearts are soft and pure,
As they sing of Kilkarney,
Or Cockles and muscles alive alive-0.

(sing)
In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!
Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!

The wild thyme so precious and rare,
Fills the air with scents so sweet,
And the rocky road to Dublin,
Leads you home again.

The mountains of Irish heather,
Surrounded by meadows of green,
The homeland of my ancestors,
Now does call to me.

Erin go Bragh