Here by the shore of the swift flowing Boyne Where the Jacobite cause bled and died. Here the piper had come to find his dead sons that their loved native soil must soon hide. What chance had they here against William’s cannon Armed with muskets their grand sires bore? Why had they been drawn to the sound of the guns? A call they will hear nevermore. While he searched he still harbored the faintest of hopes That one of his sons still might bide. But no, then he saw them as if they both slept by the shore of the Boyne, side by side. Beneath a great oak the man buried his hopes His ***** turned the red clay aside. His strong hands worked the earth for all he was worth as a trickle of sweat stung his eyes.
I have heard that man play, on the cool evening’s breath, Such a dirge as would make angels weep. It’s a cry from his heart that escapes from his pipes to the place where his two heroes sleep.
07/02/1690 In the aftermath of the battle of the Boyne and old man seeks his slaughtered sons in the dust