THE LURE OF THE SUAIMHNEAS

SWEEM/NAS..or SOON/A*S means INNER PEACE

"You're quiet today,"I said. ""Just enjoying the suaimhneas, are you?"

"Soon a*s?" repeated John, clearly puzzled.

"Saimhneas. I guess the closest translation would be 'inner peace'.

"Well," he replied, "I was, until ye came up with that there. What the f**k is that, anyway?"

"It's Gaelic. Lennon is an Irish name; you don't know any Irish?"

"Just English," he affirmed. "That's been enough, up to now, with a bit o' German."
"German, I repeated. The language of Hitler, but not the language of  Cu Chulain."

"No; you have a point, though, don'tcha."

"Yes. You're Irish, John. That's probably where your talent comes from. The Irish are known for being musicians, playwrites, novelists...storytellers and musicians! That's your heritage! You should learn some of your mother tongue."

"Father tongue," he remarked. "He was the one who was Irish, so it'd be me father tongue, I imagine."

No one taught you any?"

"Nope. I have a feelin' yer gonna try an' change that now, though...am I right?"

"Just a little lesson. N'il A theastall uait ach gra," I recited."That means, All you need is love." I sat beside him and kissed his cheek. "No Irish lessons," I said again. "You're serious."

"Not a one,till now. I guess it's about time someone ruined my Suaimhneas about all that. The sad part is, I'm sure to forget it as suaimhneas yer stop talkin' about it."

(suaimhneas is pronounced soon' as).

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

suas leis na h-Èireannaich
John was obviously of the Diaspora who have forgotten the face of their fathers ;) sure enjoyed this lesson from the Irish ... and of course that's where he got his talent from ... as all good things and beer come from the Irish! :))))))))))
E.

[angel]

Since your up with the Irish was in Scottish Gaelic, I will answer in your dialect; tha mòr latha! Fortunately, I know a little Scottish, but not much.
Thank you for reading me!
Yes, John was lax in his interest in his origins, but he was wonderful, all the same.

[Einstein Noodle]

every day is a big one :) my heritage is Northern Ireland on me Da's side and the Highlands on me Mum's ... then there is John ...i agree .. wonderful indeed .. too sad and tragic a loss .. i believe he would have given the world a whole lot more :((
i didn't mention my chuckles your piece gives me in the word play ... soon a*s!!! :)))))))))

[angel]

Thank ye,,,:):):)::):):):)

[Chris Shaw]

A dialogue with John Lennon. How cool is that? Plenty of imagination in this write. It must be the luck of the Irish.

Chris

[barleygirl]

I am always in awe of writers who can tell a cohesive story using only dialogue. There are some nice subtle nuggets buried in this one & it shows your soaring imagination, as far as coming up with the premise of your conversation with Lennon. There are plenty of references thru-out that help us navigate this conversation, even if we're not familiar with some of the words or ideas (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Neville]

that lure damn hooked me... an intriguing write for sure

[Samuel Dickens]

Sheesh. I'm still wrestling with "Saoirse Ronan", and now you unload Suaimhneas on me. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.