She sailed across in 1882,
From a town in Cork called Skibbereen.
To work and save was all she knew;
Just a lass she was, only eighteen.

She wed a fellow ****, a charming sort,
He sired three children, then he left.
She had no lawyer had no resort;
He left her broke, marooned, bereft.

My mother told me stories of her Irish Gran;
She said the woman had a brogue;
When she got old her hair was white as sand;
The no-good husband was a rogue.

My mother asked her many times about her life;
“What was your childhood like in Skibbereen?”
“Ach, it was nothing but hardship and strife;
The times were harsh, and meals were lean.”

She never went back across the sea;
Never set foot in her country again;
Lost touch with the whole of her family;
Was penniless at her life’s end.

And now my mother too is gone;
She died with one regret;
She never got to see the place;
The house where her grandmother slept.

My mother, I did what you could not,
I made this trip for you.
I touch the stone in the very spot
Where the root of our family grew.

It’s nothing much to look at, a ruin in a field;
But I take a moment and grieve;
This is where our fate was sealed;
When that girl decided to leave.

She left her homeland, all she knew;
Sailed off to the great beyond;
The one thing she could never undo
Was the rupturing of the family bond.

My mother, you made us hold our family dear,
To promise our love so strong;
Was it because you saw so clear
Your grandmother’s pain so long?

I bow my head and say a prayer,
And ask for a portion of grace;
For you and her, travelers over there,
In a foreign, mysterious place.
I hope you’ve met her in that land,
And maybe now you understand.

Such a day as this
Will never come again;
Don’t look for future bliss,
Or think about what or when.

Enjoy the moment, let it fly;
It’s all you’ve got, you see.
Don’t hold it or even try
To think of eternity.

This Now, this very drop,
Of Time’s ongoing stream;
You cannot hold or stop
The ever flowing dream.

Ghosts are all that went before;
Phantoms lie ahead.
Stop thinking of forever more;
Future and past are dead.

Look at that sky above our heads!
Have you ever seen such a blue?
It will all be gone when this moment has fled,
There will never, ever, be two.

Just think of it, we’re kings and queens,
The instant is our domain.
Our kingdom is the fleeting scene;
We drink the cup, no drop remains.

I touch your skin, my hands caress
Your gorgeous body’s curves;
I will not fail this timely test;
I’ll hold nothing in reserve.

This moment is ours to use;
Without questions of why or how;
Let’s grab it and light the fuse,
Explode in the glory of Now.

Sometimes I wonder what you ever have seen in me,
You stayed for 30 years, through thick and thin,
Enduring all my flaws, loving patiently,
Despite my disappointments and my sins.

It hasn't been an easy road, I know,
I've put you to the test more times than not.
I've been a less than stellar beau,
I wonder did you ever want me shot?

I'm sloppy, weak, unkempt and always late,
I haven't been the best at earning cash.
Could this be what you wanted in a mate?
I often think I've made our life a hash.

I know I make you laugh once in awhile;
Is that enough to keep you coming back?
A chuckle here, an unexpected smile,
Does that make up for everything I lack?

I hope I give you something more than that,
Perhaps a sense that life is not so grim.
A lift in spirit, a peppy morning chat,
Something to make you shake your head and grin.

My contribution to our life is small,
Diversion and distraction certainly,
A joke or two, a pratfall, that is all
I've learned to do, I'm sure you would agree.

You've given so much more to me it's true.
A rock, an anchor, a shelter from the gale.
One thing's certain, I can count on you;
You have a love that never flags or fails.

I'm grateful for you every single day,
There's not an hour goes by that I don't wonder why,
You've stuck so long with me, but anyway,
You did, and till the very day I die
I'll say a prayer to God above,
Thankful for your crazy stubborn love.