Scroll way down for great Celtic links

NOTE: the poetry here is all mine,
(unless otherwise noted)
and all subject to revision without notice!

'It is only by not paying our bills that we can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes' ~ Oscar Wilde

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"I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse." ~ Brendan Behan

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"Only Irish Coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat." ~ Alex Levine

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"The longer I live, the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time." ~ George Bernard Shaw

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Ma's Limericks

In learning the art of karate
One must separate Mind, Soul, and Body
If your Self you'll deny
While I dig out your eye
You'll perceive that Attachment is shoddy.

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A woman devoted to rhyme
Spoke in limericks all of the time
For gossip 'twas dandy
But it wasn't so handy
At funerals - so she filled in with mime.

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My ancestors all died at birth
And mouldered - poor babes - in the earth
With such a background
Little laughter I've found
So my limericks tend to lack mirth.

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"Humor is the politeness of despair" - Ionesco

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Standing Stone



Moss won't grow on a rolling stone
So if it's moss you're after
Stand very still and douse yourself
From time to time
with water

Keep lurking on the Shady Side
Don't wiggle around or scream
Just meditate till you cultivate
The proper shade of green. . .

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HAIKU

* * * * *Mourners'voices scrape
like the dry leaves of Autumn
discussing the wind

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Scent of cypress
Children whisper dusty secrets
in its hot, dry shade

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Cats chase twirling, windblown leaves
Today the windspirit
Is playing with cats

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Grey dragons guard
the chests of lead, wherein are kept
the Times of the Dead

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In a cracked window. . .
what fabled crystal spider
spun this shining web?

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Gathered in a vacant lot
tumbleweeds - still green -
waiting for a traveler's wind

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Calligraphy

Here is the pen
That once was a feather
That powered a wing
that rose from the reeds
A green growing thing
And then became steel
To fly through the fire
To challenge the sword
And laugh at a king

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When The Starting Gun Was Fired, I Ducked

They tell me that the race is run
And they insist I have not won
I can but answer in my place
I didn't know it was a race

Sometimes it seemed to be a dance
A banquet, or a fine romance
A roll in hay, a walk in spring
an adventure or a summer fling

I knew a race was going on
I saw the runners - saw them run
Grunting, sweating, rain or sun
It didn't look to me like fun

I did not care to live a slave
To earn myself a fancier grave
I'd rather tussle with the dog
I'd rather listen to the fog

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Celtic Roots

Roots, they told me -
Roots and wings;
Every child
should have these things.
My own attempts at flight had failed;
I had no wings to give her
so I dug for roots:
Deep and ancient
Celtic-knotted in the soul's dark earth.
It was no use to smooth them
or sort them -
Love from Sorrow; Truth from Romance
Death from Birth,
Somehow among those gnarled knots
she found the Dance
And stands now, poised
before the Judge's table
Starts with a leap
wheels and jumps again
and flies!
And with the music
my heart's voice sings:
The Roots had Wings!
The Roots had Wings!

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Things My Daddy Told Me

1.
It's not what you want that makes you fat
-it's not what you want - it's what you get. . .
There's a sucker born every minute,
and two to take him
every minute, Daddy said.
Hey Ribbon! Where you going with that little girl?
he'd say - and then he'd sing:
With Rings on your Fingers
and Bells on your Toes
Elephants to ride upon
My little Irish Rose
Oh the Minstrel Boy to the War has gone
and Bobby Shaftoe's gone to Sea
but he'd come back and marry me
my Daddy said.

2.

You can marry when you're forty
- when you're married you're a Long Time Dead
and my mother would say nothing
but that is what my Daddy said.
I am God, my Daddy said
I willed myself out of the rocks!
There is no god, my Daddy said:
the Wine of Life keeps falling. . . .

3.

. . . and then he went away,
the next St. Patrick's Day
and I remembered all his songs
and everything he used to say
and I knew why he went
but I never did know why
he didn't stop to say Goodbye.

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Click on this link to hear "Ceiltis":

Celtic music for every mood. "Ceiltis - 20 Years On" was produced on the occasion of An Claidheam Soluis/The Celtic Arts Center's 20th year. A non-profit 501.c3 corporation, ACS is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Celtic Arts and Languages, and to that end produces concerts, award winning theater, classes in language, dance, and history, and hosts the longest-running traditional music session in Southern California. This CD is a compilation of some of the artists who have graced us with their performances over the years. All profits go to The Celtic Arts Center.

Some Favorite Links

Finn MacCool - Celtic Rock band: it's not just cool, it's . .
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Learn Gaelic! Do a Haymakers' Jig! Meet people - at Los Angeles' Celtic Arts Center
The longest-running Traditional
Music Session in So. California
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Ann's Place
Irish Dance and dance-related Directory

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The Fenians;
Have Fun or Get Out
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Craicmore - Thunderously delicate Celtic music
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Highland Sun - Traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, and parts unknown
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The Irish Curse Generator
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Hidden Truths: Bloody Sunday 1972
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Post Modern Blues: Political Commentary and Satire; Dracula's Daughter Runs For President, MORE. . .
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Click here for Free Irish Resources
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Famine didn't end with The Famine
Click on the hunger site once each day
and 2 cups of food will be donated
to hungry people somewhere


* * * Views of the Famine
Articles and Pictures;
Contemporary Reports of the Irish Famine
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Hungry? Go for the Grub!

This way to the Library and Gallery

Needlework and Crafts

Herbal Lore and Kitchen Tips

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