Roads Of Mayo

Summer in my adult years

I spent with mum and dad

Reconnecting was the game

For the youth I never had

Lured away for priesthood

I was a man alone

So every summer reconnecting

I went back home

 

Summer weeks in Mayo

Driving here and there

Landing up in Barnfield

In Aunty Mary’s care

Quiet pint in Brogans

Cousin Michael’s den

He had worked in Lincoln’s fields

Bringing a harvest in

 

Now I scan death notices

Mid West Radio

Nothing maudlin’ understand

But places I used to go

I see the names of townlands

And say yes I was there

Chauffeur to my parents

And a pint to have somewhere

 

When I met a lassie

The edifice fell down

I had to start the build again

Put foundations down

Then I came home to myself

Realised my power

Followed the star that guided me

Came to my own hour

 

Brian Fahy

20 September 2022