It was Thomas O’Daly that roused up young people and scattered them,
and since death played on him, may God give him grace. The country
is all sorrowful, always talking, since their man of sport died that
would win the goal in all parts with his music. The swans on the water
are nine times blacker than a blackberry since the man died from us
that had pleasantness on the top of his fingers. His two grey eyes
were like the dew of the morning that lies on the grass. And since
he was laid in the grave, the cold is getting the upper hand.
If you travel the five provinces, you would not find his equal for
countenance or behaviour, for his equal never walked on land or grass.
High King of Nature, you who have all powers in yourself, he that
wasn’t narrow-hearted, give him shelter in heaven for it!
He was the beautiful branch. In every quarter that he ever knew he
would scatter his fill and not gather. He would spend the estate of
the Dalys, their beer and their wine. And that he may be sitting in
the chair of grace, in the middle of Paradise!
A sorrowful story on death, it’s he is the ugly chief that did
treachery, that didn’t give him credit, O strong God, for a little
time.
There are young women, and not without reason, sorry and heart-broken
and withered, since he was left at the church. Their hair thrown down
and hanging, turned grey on their head.
No flower in any garden, and the leaves of the trees have leave to
cry, and they falling on the ground. There is no green flower on the
tops of the tufts, since there did a boarded coffin go on Daly.
There is sorrow on the men of mirth, a clouding over the day, and no
trout swim in the river. Orpheus on the harp, he lifted up everyone
out of their habits; and he that stole what Argus was watching the
time he took away Io; Apollo, as we read, gave them teaching, and Daly
was better than all these musicians.
A hundred wouldn’t be able to put together his actions and his deeds
and his many good works. And Raftery says this much for Daly, because
he liked him.
(Lady Augusta Gregory)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Sadness Poems, Time Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Nature Poems, Heaven Poems, Christianity Poems, Cry Poems, Kings & Queens Poems, Beauty PoemsBased on Keywords: pleasantness, daly, raftery