A Long Way South Of Millstreet And Rathmore

He will never again see old Caherbarnagh or Gortavehy and it's face of stone
Or he will never again see the sun rise above the legendary Paps of Shrone
An aged migrant from the Cork and Kerry border a long way south of Millstreet and Rathmore
The passage of time has left him walking slower though he looks well for one of eighty four
From where he lives Duhallow and Sliabh Luachra in distance more than half  a world away
As a handsome young man his hair it was light brown his balding head it now is silver gray
His Aussie wife is deceased with a few years in eternal rest her bones forever lay
And far south of the Cork and Kerry border he will live out his final night and day
A great grand-dad his son and daughter in their fifties they too are showing the wear of passing time
It has been awhile since they were in their twenties they are two decades beyond their life's prime
On looking back the years go by so quickly though he hopes he has not lived his final Fall
For everyone there is a final sunset there is a last night and day for us all
He often talks of Villages near the Cork and Kerry border such as Ballydesmond, Cullen, Gneeveguilla and Knocknagree
Though he knows today that he would be a stranger in the place he left in nineteen fifty three.