Say Hello To The Dempseys Poem by Dónall Dempsey

Say Hello To The Dempseys

Rating: 2.5


The simple act
of saying

hello in our household

was a bit of a
mouthful:

like doing musical
scales.

There was 10 of us
to get through

as you came through
the Dempsey front door

riffing on the
abbreviation of our

pet names
so

Donall became Do.

Deirdre became Dee.

Blathin became Blathi became Bla became Bla Bla!

Etc.,
etc.,
etc.

So if you were to go
on a virtual reality tour

of me aged...oh
I don't know

bursting in from scholl

we sounded something
a little like this:

'Hi Dee! '
('Hi Do! ')

'lo Lo....'lo Do! '

'Hi Bi! '
'Hi Mi! '

('Hi Doooo! ')

'Hiya Gra! '
'Hiya Bar! '

('Hiya Dooo! ')

'BlaBla! '
'DoDo! '

OOOOoooops...there's Me.
going pellmell

(no time to say hello!)

Junie is
always Junie

& at the heart
of it all

me Ma
(who had the makings
of us all)

greeted both
with hug & kiss
(X & X)

& her first name:
''lo lovely lovely Ita! ')

us all waiting for my father
to bicycle down the hill

the sheer thrill of him

as we all screamed
& squealed:

'Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! '


(For the 'Hi Bi! ' part of the poem)

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Gina Pisapia 22 October 2007

'Great fun and yourself making it! ' as an Irish friend used to say. The sense of family is strong and warm and loving and bursting with its own momentum and exuberence! A tour de force of just sheer love spilling forth and all the cups overflowing. All those De's and Do's make this the great song of family. Only beautiful! And that line about your Mam having the makings of ya all..is a real trump card....that made me laugh. I love the 'DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ' ending. The gang's all here. Hey hey they're the Dempseys and they're just Dempseying around! Dead great poem! love Gina de la Pisapia

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Dee Dee Wright 22 October 2007

Brillant just brillant. Fantastic poem of family...the celebration of love is just overwhelming. I remember you telling me this in conversation and I remember saying to you that you should write it down...so I'm so glad that you did. All life is here and the sense of the loving sprawling familiy is just gorgeous...gorgeous. You could make a cat laugh and indeed I did laugh at this enthusiastic outpouring of what it was like to be a Dempsey. You guys are something else! Great poem from a great guy. You make me laugh and cry together or cry and laugh together or... love Dee Dee

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Scarlett Treat 20 October 2007

This is such a fun poem, and as one from a small family, it also makes me envious! The greetings sound like the songs we love...with a rythm and cadance all their own...and the line that is the most familiar to me. DAAAAAAAAAAAA, is common to us all, I think! ! Or was it the quieter love for the Ma in our families, the 'one who had the making of us all? ' what a perfect line that one is...

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Dónall Dempsey

Dónall Dempsey

Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare, Eire.
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