C-a-t cat
My mother said to me
Was all that my grandmother learned at school
Born in 1876
When school was only starting
Did she only go one day?
I can’t remember
But today I see
A lady Kuttiyama
Of Kerala in India learns to read
104 years old she is
Nine months of schooling done
And now her daily joy
To read the daily paper in the sun
I read my books each day
They are my joy
They have been ever since I was a boy
But these years especially
How lonely they would be
Without my books to occupy
And yes to comfort me
In Ireland before the schools came in
The people developed other skills
To fill the evening in
The art of conversation
And story telling ways
Engaged their hearts and minds betimes
That is the Irish craze
Across the years and down the days
I hear them talking still
My uncle Hugh’s voice I can hear
And Sarah singing still
My aunties’ conversations
The table talk at home
And my mammy with her poetry
I’ll never be alone
Brian Fahy
11 December 2021
Erris Poetry 