DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER*
*The Plantation towns of the ancient province of Ulster were designed with Diamonds rather than town squares. Diamonds were the areas where all the main streets converged thereby creating bottlenecks which were easier to police. This proved extremely effective in the event of civil unrest.
Alone I stood upon the crest above the place I once knew best
That island town that once was home to me.
Five miles downstream of my native place where the lordly River Erne traced
Its lazy semicircles towards the sea.
It was there I learned my tribal call; divided stand- united fall
For that was how it always seemed to be
When on such shifting sands are memories built
There’s not much need to hide the guilt
or pride, I had the courage to break free.
Ulster’s towns have Diamonds – Southern towns have squares
Old ghosts kneel along the borderlands and warn us to beware.
For the Diamonds are forever for the ones who had to stay
The Diamonds are forever from the cradle to the grave.
In the Melvin House I find a seat and watch the people on the street
Their passing marks the measure of my day
Once the slowly moving town clock hands saw a circle forming in time’s sands
That was opened by my boot heels going away.
Still wondering on my pilgrim quest
why my heart stood still while my feet went west
for westward lay the promise of the sun.
Young men don’t know when they venture forth
Exactly what a circle’s worth
Or that the earth ends where their footprints first begun.
Ulster’s towns have Diamonds- Southern towns have squares
Old ghosts kneel along the borderlands and they warn us to beware.
For the Diamonds are forever for the ones who had to stay
The Diamonds are forever from the cradle to the grave.
I sometimes wonder if I’d stayed the sort of man I might have made
What playing card would raise the stakes, then call
For the choice is stark for Ulster’s cubs
Queens of Diamonds, Jacks of Clubs
While the Joker rigs the deck and takes it all.
Perhaps a man who’d understand
This malice here in wonderland
Means bend and bow or stand and rise and fall
Or perhaps a man who’d turn away to live for flight another day
Or the author of the writing on the wall.
Ulster’s towns have Diamonds – southern towns have squares
Old ghosts kneel along the borderlands and they warn us to beware.
For the Diamonds are forever for the ones who had to stay
The Diamonds are forever from birth to judgement day.