PADDY MORGAN

Me Ma and Da found a safe home

In Spoon River , * fleein’ from
The Famine. They bound me
Ta the wild songs o’ Old Erin.
I became yer fiddlerman
An’ called up the magic o’ the dance.
Well now, ya hired me
When ya wanted yer spirits ta soar.
Me fiddle made yer feet flash —
All the lasses’ petticoats spinnin’ out
Like flowers bloomin’, their petals
Blue, ivory, an’ peach. Twists o’ lilac,
Women’s scent, drifted in the air,
Spun off golden skin by the dance’s heat.
A bit o’ poteen ta quench me thirst,
An’ me bow work dazzled yer eyes.
Faster . . . faster — heel an’ toe,
Polishin’ the wood floor with yer soles,
An’ yer souls with whoops o’ joy.
Then came a day o’ darkness an’ silence.
Ya buried me with me fiddle an’ bow.
Jaysus, I wish I could play again. Aye!
 
 
 
* Fulton County , Illinois