POETRY.
THE GRAVE OF MIRY O'CONOR.
[LAST HIGH-KING OF IRELAND, BURIED 1198 AT BT. FSCHIN'S MONASTERY, CORO, CO. MAY0.] CLEAR as air, the floods of Corrib
Evermore their old, unchanging song Murmur from their stony channels Round O'Conor's sepulchre in Cong.
Crownless, hopeless, here he lingered ;
Noteless years went by him like a dreamt While the far-off tide of conquest
Murmured faintly as the singing stream.
Here he died and here they tombed him, Men of Feohin, chanting round his grave, Did they know, ah ! did they know it, What they buried by the Western wave P Now above the sleep of Rury Holy things and great have passed away; Stone by stone the stately Abbey Falls and fades in passionless decay.
Darkly grows the quiet ivy Where the broken arches glimmer through,. Dark upon the cloister garden Dreams the shadow of the ancient yew.
Through the roofless aisles the verdure Flows, the meadowsweet and foxglove bloom; Earth the mother and consoler Winds soft arms about the lonely tomb.
Peace and holy gloom possess him, Last of Gaelic monarchs of the Gael, Slumbering by the young, eternal River-voices of the Western vale.
T. W. ROLLESTON.
Previous page
