“Mona Machree”
“Mona Machree, I’m the wanderin’ cr’ature now,
Over the sea;
Slave of no lass, but a lover of Nature now
Careless and free.”
—T. A. Daly.
Mona Machree! och, the sootherin’ flow of it,
Soft as the sea,
Yet, in-under the mild, moves the wild undertow of it
Tuggin’ at me,
Until both the head and the heart o’ me’s fightin’
For breath, nigh a death all so grandly invitin’
That—barrin’ your own livin’ yet—I’d delight in,
Drowned in the deeps of this billowy song to you
Sung by a lover your beauty has banned,
Not alone from your love but his dear native land,
Whilst the kiss of his lips, and touch of his hand,
And his song—all belong to you,
Mona Machree!