words from wick

Ireland: Day 11

We woke this morn before the dawn
To watch the sun emerge
God saw us gathering to observe
And decided to splurge

He used His total palette then
To draw our eyes in awe
Our photos cannot full contain
The beauty which we saw

A slow morning to all relax
Then Howth for fish and chips
Entertained there by harbor seal
Waving and doing back flips

Meandering the afternoon
We all felt strange sensation
Savoring each precious moment
Toward end of our vacation

The pulsing love of family
Beyond visiting friends
Thankful that beyond this trip
This warmth will never end

For just as Eire is nurtured
By her steady sun and rains
A fruitful family, rooted deep
In Jesus’ love, remains

We saunaed on the ocean
With a cold plunge there beside
Joined with many others near
Who’d come to greet the tide

Reluctantly to bed we went
Knowing our limitation
For tomorrow we would return
To our time zone and nation

Escaping early morning
While the fam enjoyed their slumber
We sought historic sanctuary
With only two in number

First it was at Christ Church
Where Vikings Christ adored
Now Strongbow here lies peacefully
As a proper English Lord

The crypt containing treasures
And mummified remains
(And also gift shop tchotchkes,
to the echoes of prayer refrains.)

Next, to old Whitefriar
We met Saint Valentine
Asking Jesus to bless our Love
With His own Love divine

For lunch, the house of Gallagher
For boxty, many ways
As Temple Bar was waking
From the drink of yesterdays

Then back to join as family
Where modern shops abound
To celebrate together
At all the deals we’d found

We smiled at Flying Tiger
And what else was euro trending
Then tasted Butler’s chocolate
Before our day was ending

(Here seems a good reminder
As each day to next flowed
Every time we drove somewhere
From wrong side of the road.)

On the early road to Dublin
I held “Mo Thaisce’s” hand
Our hearts all thumping adventure
Exploring Dublin firsthand

First to the Book of Kells
That deep illumination
Four books in one so long ago
Proclaiming our salvation

The page today was opened
Last chapter by Luke’s hand
“And on the first day of the week”
He thwarted what evil planned

To Trinity College library
Ireland’s treasure store
The harp of Bryan Boru here
Declarations and still more

The voices of the ages
Combined in conversation
Juxtaposed in one long hall
Republic beyond a nation

Next to tower before tea
To swell with family pride
Welcomed well by Salesforce
With refreshments opened wide

Then tea, shopping, and Vikings
We conquered by dividing
All the sights, the sounds, and more
This city was providing

Ending at Temple Bar District
By dining at the Shack
Strong Irish viands here we found
Yet one more thing we lacked

We wandered only briefly
To sound of Trad music afar
At Gogarty’s, O’Connor invited us
To remember where we are