Spring Mud

Pollen filled air.
Mud everywhere.
Creek’s overflowing.
Seeds need sowing.

Willows startin’ weeping.
Snakes startin’ creeping.
Ticks are biting.
Watch out for lightening.

My nose is all red.
Dirty sheets on the bed.
Can’t wash the clothes.
‘Cause it’s raining outdoors.

The dryer silently died.
After the TV fried.
Oh, it’s almost spring break?
Can we go to the lake?

There’s a hornet buzzin’.
Followed by a dozen.
A bird’s building a nest.
On grandmas’ old chest.

It’s feeding and growing.
It’s hard work hoeing.
Here comes another storm
I think I’m leaving home.

Then… in a twinkle
The sun will emerge.
The flowers stand tall
And I feel Springs’ surge.

CAWatson3/29/2007

Spring of Life

Blossoming thoughts,
Budding youth,
Showers of feelings,
Flowering truth.

Rejoice, refresh.
Start a new.
Sprouting intentions,
Growing in you.

Distant thunder,
Seeding my soul.
Planting freedom,
Breezing to summers door.

Opening, unfolding,
Searching for light.
Revitalizing newness,
Rebirth in flight.

Oh, Spring of life,
Eternal spring within,
Re-till my garden,
Cleanse where I have been.

CAWatson 3/25/2007

Tangled Primrose

I stand upon the nearness of rapture,
Seeing only common place.
I alone know what I’m after,
When I’m gone, I’ll leave a trace.

In our fragile recollections,
Hiding deep within our soul.
Is our storyboard and our demons,
Some we’ve made, some we know.

They are waiting to be presented.
Some will never make the grade.
If we choose the correct ones wisely,
We’ll find no reason to be afraid.

On the choosing, on the growing,
Our heart must always lead us there.
For amongst our tangled primrose,
Is a path we need to share.

CAWatson2007

Common Man

I will stand on distant timelines,
I will see the rages won.
I will count the men gone dying,
I will answer to every one.

When their hell breaks all the heroes,
And common man is all to stand,
I will wade through the desolation,
I will stop to hold your hand.

I will weep for all that suffer,
I will seed your hearts with joy.
I will watch you in your plunder,
I will hear your painful story.

I will hold you in my memory.
I will tell your battles true.
I will touch your heart with gladness,
I will stay and comfort you.

CAWatson3/21/2007

You Forgot Beauty

Your age is haunting you, my son.
I believe you may still be the one,
To cast your words all tangled true.
You hold the power, it’s inside of you.

The torment, the confusion, the searching for the dream.
It’s part of growing, it’s part of the scheme.
You’ve done well, my boy, you swallow the pain.
You try to serve jelly, while others eat their toast plain.

Keep on going, keep putting it out.
Even if only one or two feel what it’s about.
Strong words reside in a room of sadness within.
You’ve tried to find it, but, it takes compassion to win.

You’ve merely forgotten, it’s not all about you.
The chimes in the soul are heard by few.
The power’s there, your trip is not to hide.
In the silence of the night, you forgot beauty,
You forgot pride.

CAWatson 3/21/2007

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Scrabble

They’re playin’ Scrabble,
On the outside of town.
The ol’ gals are laughin’ and talkin’,
And playin’ another round.

Pappy’s gone down to the hollow,
Checkin’ the still, I reckon, so.
He says he don’t sell it no more,
But, he can’t seem to give up the flow.

Country life’s slowin’, smell the air.
Music’s playing, driftin’ through the background.
People have space to relax and care.
The closer the space, the more stress I’ve found.
Yet, others can live with thousands all around.

Give me a Scrabble game.
Dominoes will most certainly do.
Let’s talk and play the afternoon through,
Let’s enjoy the fun of me and you.
Let’s keep the pace and friendship true.

CAWatson3/2007

When Truth Becomes A Part

Within the balance,
Of ones folded dreams,
Lies a sweet serenity,
Of strength, it seems.

I may fight my dragons,
I may slay my foes,
But, it’s the inner person,
That either tarnishes or glows.

My actions, fulfill me,
By the path I choose.
My true character emerges,
By the path I use.

If I give up my ego,
Don’t rely on others to care,
It seems an odd thing happens,
I start having more to share.

I can only be a friend,
When honesty is in my heart.
I can only love myself,
When truth becomes a part.

CAWatson3/2007

Happy St. Patrick’s Day…
A

• “Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile”
  • Translation: “One beetle recognises another”
  • Meaning: It takes one to know one; Like sees like

• “An rud is annamh is íontach.”
  • Translation: “What is seldom is wonderful.”

B

• “Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.”
  • Translation: “The Power fellow will have another day.”
  • Meaning: “We’ll live to fight another day.” -sk

• “Bíonn gach tosú lag.”
  • Translation: “Every beginning is weak.”

• “Bíonn grásta Dé idir an diallait agus an talamh”
  • Translation: “The grace of God is found between the saddle and the ground”

• “Bíonn adharca fada ar na ba thar lear”
  • Translation: “Cattle in faraway lands have long horns”
  • Meaning: The grass is always greener on the other side

• “Bíonn ciúin ciontach”
  • Translation: “The quiet are guilty”

• “Bíonn cluasa ar na clathacha”
  • Translation: “The walls have ears”

• “Briseann an dúchais tri shúile an chat”
  • Translation: “Breeding will break out in the eyes of a cat.”
  • Meaning: “The true nature of someone’s character is revealed through their eyes”

C

• “Cailín ag Mór agus Mór ag iarraidh déirce”
  • Translation: “Mór has a maid and yet Mór has to beg.”
  • Meaning: Anything to keep up appearances
• “Cad a dhéanfadh mac a’ chait ach luch a mharú?”
  • Translation: “What else would the cat’s son do, except kill a mouse?”
  • Meaning: Like father – like son.

• “Ceileann searc ainimh ’s locht”
  • Translation: “Love is blind”

• “Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde”
  • Translation: “Beware of the anger of a patient man”

D

• “Don’t go putting wool on the sheep’s back.”
  • Meaning: Don’t give someone something they don’t need.
  • Similar: Carrying coals to Newcastle

• “Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi”
  • Translation: “A woman told me that a woman told her . . .”
  • Meaning: Don’t believe everything you are told. It may be just gossip.

I

• “Is binn béal ina thost”
  • Translation: “A silent mouth is sweet.”
  • Meaning: Silence is golden.

• “I scath a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.”
  • Translation: “People live in each other’s shadows.”

• “Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte.”
  • Translation: “Health is better than wealth.”

• “Is í ding di féin a scoileann an dair.”
  • Translation: “It is a wedge of itself that splits the oak.”
  • Meaning: Beware of the enemy within.

• “Is iad na muca ciúine a itheann an mhín.”
  • Translation: “It’s the quiet pigs that eat the grain.”
  • Meaning: It’s those who are quiet that you don’t suspect.

• “Is iomaí slí muc a mharú seachas a thachtadh le h-im”
  • Translation: “There are many ways of killing a pig other than by choking it with butter.”
  • Meaning: There’s more than one way to do something – usually, more simply.

• “Is leor don dreoilín a nead”
  • Translation: “The nest is enough for a wren”
  • Meaning: Home is where the heart is

• “Is leor nod don eolach”
  • Translation: “A hint is sufficient for the wise”

• “Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir”
  • Translation: “Time is a good story teller”
  • Meaning: Stories become embellished with time

• “Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón”
  • Translation: “It’s often a person’s mouth broke their nose”
  • Meaning: Watch what you say–it can hurt you!

• “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”
  • Meaning: There are situations, where even a little knowledge will provides great advantage

• “It’s hard to make a choice between two blind dogs.”
  • Meaning: Both options are unsatisfactory

M

• “Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad”
  • Translation: “A light heart lives longest”
• “Dá pósfá cáilín Truach, pósfá Truagh ar fad”
  • Translation: “Marry a woman from Truagh and you marry all Truagh.”
  • Meaning: You cannot be in a relationship without accepting a person’s friends, family, and past affiliations.

• “Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad”
  • Translation: “Praise the youth and they will come”
  • Meaning:Young people learn more from compliments than criticism

• “Molann an obair an fear”
  • Translation: “The work praises the man”

• “Is maith an rud é go téann na mbothair i gCíarraí as Cíarraí”
  • Translation:”Its a good thing that the roads in Kerry, go out of Kerry”
  • Meaning: If you live in Kerry, you’ll be glad there’s a way out

• “Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras”
  • Translation:”Hunger is a great sauce.”
  • Meaning: If you’re hungry, everthing tastes good.

• “Marbh le tae agus marbh gan é”
  • Translation:”Murdered with tea, murdered with out it”

N

• “Na bac le mac an bhacaigh, agus ní bhacaigh mac an bhacaigh leat”
  • Translation: “Don’t bother the beggar’s son and the beggar’s son won’t bother you.”
  • Meaning: Mind your own business and let others mind theirs.

• • “Never burn a penny candle looking for a halfpenny.”
  • Meaning: Don’t spend more on something than it is worth.

• “Ní bhíonn airgead amadáin i bhfad ina phóca.”
  • Translation: “A fool’s money is not long in his pocket.”
  • Meaning: A fool and his money are soon parted.

• “Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht”
  • Translation: “There’s no wise man without fault”
  • Note:In Hiberno-English, this is rendered as “There doesn’t be a wiseman without fault”. The use of “does be” tries to express the present continuous tense (or present habitual tense)which exists in Irish but not to the same extent in English.

• “Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha”
  • Translation: “A debt is still unpaid, even if forgotten”

• “Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí”
  • Translation: “A rainy day is not a day for children”
  • (A pun: báistí and bpáistí sound alike).

• “Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scoilb”
  • Translation: “A windy day is not a day for thatching”
  • Meaning “Don’t close the barn door after the horse gets out”

• “Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear”
  • Translation:”Things aren’t as they seem”

• “Ní thagann ciall roimh aois”
  • Meaning: Sense does not come before age

• “Ní thuigeann an seach an seang”
  • Translation: “The well fed person doesn’t understand the hungry one”
• Meaning:You can’t understand what you haven’t experienced

• “Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin”
  • Translation: “There’s no hearth like your own hearth”
  • Meaning: There’s no place like home.

• “Níl aon tóin tinn mar do thóin tinn féin”
  • Translation: “There’s no sore ass like your own sore ass”
  • This is a pun reversing the syllables from the phrase before.

• “Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh”
  • Translation: “A good word never broke a tooth”
  • Meaning: It doesn’t hurt to pay a compliment

• “Nuair a bhíonn an t-ól istigh, bíonn an chiall amuigh”
  • Translation: “When the drink is in, the sense is out”

T

• “Tada gan iarracht”
  • Meaning: Nothing without effort

• “Trí na chéile a thógtar na cáisléain”
  • Translation: “In our ‘togetherness’(as a team), castles are built”
  • Meaning: Teamwork and co-operation are required to complete great projects.

• “Tús maith, leath na hoibre.”
  • Meaning: A good start is half the work.

Inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that’s where you renew your springs that never dry up.    Pearl S. Buck