My cousin Tommy had my blazer on
The jacket that I always wore to school
I had a new one wearing out the old
The old one went to Tommy that’s the rule
We sent our clothes to Ireland
For our cousins
And they sent hens and chickens
Christmas time
This was Mayo Meitheal at its finest
Solidarity with everyone in line
We had jobs and wages
And the city
Smoke and smog and high technology
Mayo had its poverty God help us
But in many ways they were as rich as we
We envied them
The broad wide, open spaces
The river and the hills and open sky
But we had travelled distances
Beyond them
A world they’d soon encounter
By and by
The bonds of love that grew
Between the cousins
Have lasted from our youth until today
And I smile as I remember
How Tommy wore my jacket
That summer when we came Glencullen way
Brian Fahy
8 May 2021
Erris Poetry 