Only Have Memories

The old fields i loved i may never more see
I only have memories of what used to be
I have long shed the last of my nostalgic tears
Since i have not been in Ireland for thirty two years

I feel resigned to the possibility that i may never more
See the Atlantic waves spill on Hibernia's shore
Or see the hills half cloaked in the gray fogs of rain
All we have of the past are memories to retain

The past comes to me when i visualize
I hear the birds sing in an Irish sunrise
In the prime of the Spring for to welcome the day
In the leafy groves from here far away

The memories until death with me bound to stay
Of the hawthorns cloaked in their white blossoms of the May
And the old fields lush and green after the recent showers
Looking quite resplendent in their Nature's flowers

It was my yearn for travel that brought me far south
Of the fields of the rooks and waterways of the brown trout
And only the memories with me now remain
Of faces and places i may not see again.