Himself and me put in the trap
And daundered into town,
And there we found a whirlygig,
A circus and a clown;
We took a ticket for the two,
Without a thought of shame,
And never knew till we got home
The loss of our good name.
‘Twas Mrs Dinny met us first;
Says she, “What’s this I hear?
Ye’re gaddin’ round like young gossoons
Instid of sixty year!”
Says she, “I heard a shockin’ thing
About a horse ye rid! . . .”
Says I, “The divel take your ears—
I don’t care if ye did!”
Says she, “I’ve had respect for you;
I’ve held ye up to all;
And now my heart is broke in two
To think ye’ve had a fall;
For sure I never thought to find
The frivolous in you . . .”
Says I, for I was feelin’ warm,
“I don’t care if ye do!”
We turned and left her where she stood,
A poor astonished thing,
Whose wildest dissipation was
A sober Highland Fling;
But when we came to Kelly’s gate
We got another knock,
For there was John O’Brien’s Joe,
Who looked his naked shock!
Says he (to Dan he whispers it)
“They say—” says he, “they say . . .”
“Be damned to what they say,” says Dan;
Says I, “Do asses bray?”
The poor misfortune stared at me
As if he thought me daft,
But, me, I looked him eye for eye,
Until he felt a draught.
The next was Mrs Tracy’s Mick;
Who said, “I’m hearin’ things!”
Says I, “We’d never need to ride
If gossipin’ was wings!”
Says he, “There’s decency you know;
Ye mustn’t go too far.
I’m that much shocked . . ,” “Tut, tut,” says I,
“I don’t care if ye are!”
But dear old Gran O’Shaughnessy
She met us at the door,
And said, “Since first I heard the news
My foot’s wore out the floor!
I never laughed so much,” says she,
“Not once in all me days,
As when I heard that you and Dan
Was took to shameless ways.
“I’m keepin’ up the fire,” she said,
“Through all this blessed day.
My wan eye on the kittle, and
Me other up the way;
And when I heard ye on the road,
And thought of what ye’d done,
I felt me longest years slip off
For thinkin’ of your fun!”
“Sure then,” says I, “it’s not myself
That would begrudge the tale,
And jokes, like butter on the shelf,
If left too long grow stale.”
I told her how I rid the horse
In that there jig-ma-gee,
And when I said how I fell off,
“A-w-w, did ye now!” says she.
I told her of the circus clown,
And all the things he did.
She said, “He wasn’t half the fun
Of that there horse ye rid;
And though my bones is eighty-six,
I wisht I was wi’ ye!”
Says I, “Myself, I wisht it, too!”
“I bet ye did!” says she.
“Aw, girl,” she said, “ye’ve had your day,
If Brucedale has the talk;
Ye’ve ate the apple to the core,
So let them chew the stalk!”
They chewed the stalk from Rapley’s gate
To Cartwright’s on the hill—
“Bedad,” says Dan, “though years is gone,
There’s some that’s chewin’ still!”
(Dame Mary Gilmore DBE)
More Poetry from Dame Mary Gilmore DBE:
Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems based on Topics: Mind, Fire, Thought & Thinking, Horse, Name, Media & News, Jokes & Humor- The Bull (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
- Casterton To Mount Gambier (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
- The Wild Horses (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
- Paddy Mannion's Song Of The Road (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
- Mother And Son (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
- Swans At Night (Dame Mary Gilmore DBE Poems)
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Based on Topics: Mind Poems, Name Poems, Fire Poems, Thought & Thinking Poems, Horse Poems, Media & News Poems, Jokes & Humor PoemsBased on Keywords: wisht, decency, mick, dissipation, tut, begrudge, hearin, kittle, brien, hill-, bedad