Two-way memories© Tony
Fallon Feb 2017
The timeline for this
poem is the early 50’s
Memories are the ties that bind
The emigrant to the home he left behind
You remember the sunshine and not the rain
You remember the first time you saw a train
You talk very fondly of the old school
Where you were beaten with a wooden rule
The church where you heard scary sermons
About the devil or invading Germans
Remembering your first ride in a motor car
Being told Jamesie Murray was a superstar
A real hero of Ireland’s Gaelic football game
A man so humble you could use his first name
Less and less you think of all the muck and mire
Cutting and saving turf to get a decent winter fire
You only remember the lark in the sky in the bog
You remember the first rabbit you caught with a dog
All the excitement of hearing a cuckoo
The smell from the kitchen of Irish stew
That’s not the only odor stuck in your head
I bet you still remember the fresh baked bread
So much smoke in the kitchen you’d need a fan
When the bacon started burning on the pan
After a long day of work you’d be ready to fall
But you’d still find the energy to play football
After five or six neighbors started to arrive
Your father might take out the cards for twenty-five
The young ones might suggest a few games of rings
Or play a game of checkers with only six kings
Later your mother would say it’s time to say a prayer
And you’d fall asleep with your head on the chair
You remember the one for whom you pined
Your first big crush that you so easily left behind
You told me it was almost like a little holiday
And you would never dream of living in the USA
But soon the money came to you in a weekly check
And about us here in Ireland you didn’t give a feck
You started to like the wine the women and the beer
You did not come to marry in the springtime of the year.
But we who stay at home have memories too
And the memories that I have are memories of you
If you were to show up some day even without warning
I’d forgive you everything and marry you in the morning
Memories are the ties that bind
The emigrant to the home he left behind
You remember the sunshine and not the rain
You remember the first time you saw a train
You talk very fondly of the old school
Where you were beaten with a wooden rule
The church where you heard scary sermons
About the devil or invading Germans
Remembering your first ride in a motor car
Being told Jamesie Murray was a superstar
A real hero of Ireland’s Gaelic football game
A man so humble you could use his first name
Less and less you think of all the muck and mire
Cutting and saving turf to get a decent winter fire
You only remember the lark in the sky in the bog
You remember the first rabbit you caught with a dog
All the excitement of hearing a cuckoo
The smell from the kitchen of Irish stew
That’s not the only odor stuck in your head
I bet you still remember the fresh baked bread
So much smoke in the kitchen you’d need a fan
When the bacon started burning on the pan
After a long day of work you’d be ready to fall
But you’d still find the energy to play football
After five or six neighbors started to arrive
Your father might take out the cards for twenty-five
The young ones might suggest a few games of rings
Or play a game of checkers with only six kings
Later your mother would say it’s time to say a prayer
And you’d fall asleep with your head on the chair
You remember the one for whom you pined
Your first big crush that you so easily left behind
You told me it was almost like a little holiday
And you would never dream of living in the USA
But soon the money came to you in a weekly check
And about us here in Ireland you didn’t give a feck
You started to like the wine the women and the beer
You did not come to marry in the springtime of the year.
But we who stay at home have memories too
And the memories that I have are memories of you
If you were to show up some day even without warning
I’d forgive you everything and marry you in the morning
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