St. Patrick's Day
From sweet poems to lovely blessings, these little stanzas have all the luck and light of Ireland.
Even if you've never set foot on the Emerald Isle, you can still join the millions of people worldwide who'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on March 17. You'll be seeing lots of shamrock and leprechaun-themed images and memes on your friends' and family members' feeds, so how about honoring the day by posting an Irish-themed poem for St. Patrick's Day? It'll show your artistic side and your Irish heart at the same time.
Much of the mythology surrounding St. Patrick himself is just that — myth, according to Ireland Rising. For instance, the whole business about his driving the snakes out of Ireland is pure fantasy; the serpents were never there to begin with. (The Irish Sea would have made it impossible for them to migrate from England.) It's also unlikely that he used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans, or that he created the Celtic cross design to make Christianity appealing to the unbelievers. But that doesn't cancel out the fact that the good man is still the patron saint of Ireland, and we've been celebrating him in the US since 1762, as the Old Farmer's Almanac reminded us. Why break with tradition now?
If you're like many folks, you'll be celebrating this holiday by wearing green, perhaps attending a (virtual) parade, dining on corned beef and cabbage, and hoisting a beer (green-tinted, if you must). But it would be even more appropriate to acknowledge Ireland's long history of fine poetry, from lyrical blessings to classic works by William Butler Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Oscar Wilde, and other gifted Irish writers. Try one of these on your Insta feed, or do a quick browse and find a poem that speaks to you. Either way, St. Patrick would surely be glad that you're using his day for something other than wearing a leprechaun hat.
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"The Workman's Friend"
From Ireland Calling comes "The Workman's Friend," a poem by Brian O'Nolan, which sums up the simple comfort that a glass of Guinness in your local pub can bring. Most perfect is its opening stanza:
"When things go wrong and will not go right
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night —
A pint of plain is your only man."
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Friendship Blessing
From the Facebook page An Irish Sense of Humor comes this poem just made for tagging your friends:
"In thanks for the fullness of days spent together,
The friends that we pray will be with us forever.
The feelings we've shared, the food and the fun,
With faith that God's blessings have only begun."
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A Sunbeam To Warm You
Yet another lovely Emerald Isle wish is quoted in Goodreads:
"May God grant you always... A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you; Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you."
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Fairy Poem
Fairy legends are as popular as leprechaun tales in Ireland, and William Allingham's "The Faeries" is one of the best-known poems about the mysterious magical creatures:
"Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping altogether;
Green jacket, red cap
And white owl's feather!"
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St. Patrick Was A Gentleman
This humorous Irish poem (as quoted by Quotes Hunger) pays tribute to the good saint himself:
"St. Patrick was a gentleman
Who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland
Here's a drinkee to his health!
But not too many drinkees
Lest we lose ourselves and then...
Forget the good St. Patrick
And see them snakes again!"
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"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
Posting the lyrics of this famous song will get your followers humming the tune in their heads:
"When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure 'tis like a morn in spring;
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing;
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world seems bright and gay;
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure they steal your heart away!"
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Wishing You A Pot Of Gold
Sometimes simple is best, and you can't get any simpler than this two-line poetic blessing:
"Wishing you a pot of gold
And all the joy your heart can hold!"
(For maximum effect, you could post a selfie of yourself wearing this shirt.)
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My Land
The Irish are rightly proud of the land of their birth, and this poem by 19th-century author Thomas Osborne Davis sums up this pride nicely:
"She is a rich and rare land;
Oh! she's a fresh and fair land;
She is a dear and rare land —
This native land of mine.
She's not a dull or cold land;
No! she's a warm and bold land;
Oh! she's a true and old land —
This native land of mine."
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