THE SIX

As a young boy,
I collected stamps.
Many were from
Ireland, sent by
my great-aunt.
As I looked at them
one day, a question
formed, which I took
to my grandmother.
"So," I said, "Ireland
is now completely
independent of England?"
She proceeded to tell
me about the Six
Counties in the north
that had been
left behind.
Telling me this,
she seemed uncomfortable,
even ashamed.
Then suddenly
she exclaimed,
"They should never
have stopped!"
In that moment,
her passion for Irish
independence was
somehow transferred
to me,
where it continues
to live.

Not forty years had
passed since the Rising,
which I knew nothing
about. Fifty years
were greeted by the
Troubles. One
hundred will be
celebrated soon--
with what?
I shall not be
there, but perhaps
my grandmother,
and others
from that time,
will.
Perhaps their day
will come.

April 14 2016