CORK 1922.

AN OLD WOMAN AND HER MEETING WITH MICHAEL COLLINS IN CORK IN 1922.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was handed down

By mouth to mouth and

The old black and white

 

Photograph of your
Great grandma standing
With Michael Collins

 

Not long before he
Was taken by death:
Assassinated.

 

And she’d not believe
That a man as good
As he could be snatched

 

Away like that, and
You remember her
Only vaguely there

 

Lying on her bed,
Her head plunged between
Pillows hardly a

 

Word could she utter,
Barely a breath to
Spare, but she managed

 

To sit up and softly
Whisper: He was there.
The great man himself.

 

The light in her old
eyes flickered briefly,
And you, unsure of

 

What to say or do,
Just nodded your head,
Smiled, and gave the false

 

Impression of you
Having great and deep
Understanding, and

 

Yet uncertain if
The words that followed
Were relating to

 

Collins or the Christ,
But she lay back down,
Closed her eyes and died.