The train pulled in
Roscommon railway station
Grey stone building
Flowerbed neatly made
My cosy seat felt low
Against the platform
Sliding ever westward
Westward Ho!
Low green fields
Low stone walls
Stony county so
I am going home to Mayo
Going all my days
Never settled down there
No long-lasting stays
But I took Mayo with me
From the first time that I met her
She has been my sure companion all the way
From my early days in Erris
To later years in Westport
Mayo is in my heart
And there to stay
If I could live in Mayo
I don’t know where to chose
The wild west of Erris
Or Newport’s quiet views
Near the coast for certain
Beside that western strand
From Erris Head to Louisburg
Clare Island to command
Brian Fahy
11 Mayo 2022
Erris Poetry 