For My Mother
I want to reach across the sky
to mists beyond the blue
to where you are imagined still
and I remember you
Your face was soft, your lilting tongue
a brogue of Burren’s air,
a flute that danced upon the wind
from Erin’s County Clare.
You danced a Hornpipe, kicked your heels,
smiled with not a care ~
With rocking ankle, turn of calf,
And ribbons in your hair.
Wild and exiled, mother mine
you beat the flaggy ground
with rhythm of the rebel coast
battering the sound.
I do miss your bluest eyes
and long for when you were
an orchid in a field of tare ~
the girl from County Clare.
Copyright, poem, Niamh Clune 2013, All rights reserved
Editor’s Note: Yesterday, May 30, was Mothering Sunday in the UK and Niamh’s lovely poem is posted in honor of the day. Best wishes and gratitude to moms in the UK and everywhere from The Bardo Group and thanks to Niamh for sharing this lovely homage to her own mom with us in celebration of this special day.
DR. NIAMH CLUNE (Plum Tree Books Blog) ~ is the author of the Skyla McFee series: Orange Petals in a Storm, and Exaltation of a Rose. She is also the author of The Coming of the Feminine Christ: a ground-breaking spiritual psychology. Niamh received her Ph.D. from Surrey University on Acquiring Wisdom Through The Imagination and specialises in The Imaginal Mind and how the inborn, innate wisdom hidden in the soul informs our daily lives and stories. Niamh’s books are available in paperback (children’s books) and Kindle version (The Coming of the Feminine Christ). Dr. Clune is the CEO of Plum Tree Books and Art. Its online store is HERE. Niamh’s Amazon page is HERE.
The BeZine 
Beautiful!
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Thank you, Paula!
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Reblogged this on Plum Tree Books Blog.
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Thank you for posting, Jamie.
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I love the quality of this remembrance and the sense of dance, color and spirit. A fine and loving homage, Niamh.
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A perfect ballad, Niamh, perfect in its scansion and it’s us of the language. Tells me exactly what it’s all about and with plenty of images, conjured by your use of words; it conveys an essence of your beautiful emerald isle and its culture. I particularly like the penultimate stanza …
“Wild and exiled, mother mine
you beat the flaggy ground
with rhythm of the rebel coast
battering the sound.”
In this, maybe not exclusively the metaphor you intended, I see the characteristic passion for music and dance irrevocably woven with Ireland’s historical struggles.
This is a fine ballad indeed. I am much impressed.
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This is an incredible tribute to your mother … to the love you have/had for each other, an example. How lovely!
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Beautiful, lilting tribute to your mother, Niamh…tickles my Irish genes.
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Such a beautiful poem and tribute to your mother. Loved the vivid imagery of your mother and your culture. I love the music and the dance. Have longed to visit Ireland as my father’s family came from there, but not sure where. And, Happy Mothering Day to you!
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Many thanks Patricia for your generous comment.
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Victoria Slotto….it is amazing how that Irishness responds to the rhythm of the drum!
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Raven Spirit…thank you so much for your generous words.
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John. I am much obliged to you for your generosity. Yes! My mother was a rebel in the old-fashioned Fenian sense…not in what erupted after 1969 from which, she totally disassociated herself. Her mother was a Fenian and her father was an RIC man (Royal Irish Constabulary)…needless to say, my grandmother and grandfather didn’t live together, as their politics were so different. My mother sympathised with both, but loved the freedom England gave her when we emigrated there. In those days, no Irish family was politically unaware.
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Thank you, Jamie and thank you for posting it.
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Beautiful poem, I feel like I have met your mother fact-to-face.
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Many thanks Pat!
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