Neath The Cypress Tree Poem by James Casey

Neath The Cypress Tree

The night was dark and the hour late,
A cold wind blew the winter air,
Three farmers homeward walked
Down through the County Square,
They thought they heard a cry,
Both sad and sharp it caught their ear
Although the winds blew high.

They climbed the wall and searched the tombs
That thickly filled the ground,
And, spreading on a new-made grave,
A weeping youth they found:
His intense moans filled the chilly air,
For he looked pale and wild,
His loud cries would have pierced your heart,
For he wept just like a child.

They picked him up from his cold dead spot
Still wailing, tried to carried him away,
He says, ' Please do not move me from my spot'
For tis here I wish to stay;
My only true-love is in this grassy bed,
It's here all night I'll lie,
By the side of my poor lost bride,
I will remain here until I die. '

In early life we were both joined
In love both fond and true,
The times were bad and I was poor,
It was then I went astray,
To make a fortune in foreign lands,
I crossed sea, then went away

Scarce before I went away,
In golden bands we joined,
It was then I left my tender bride,
So lonely, young and fond;
For three long years I stayed away
And I won my fortune in strange lands,
Now with money in my hands '

' But alas my sorrow then begun,
When I came home they had her wed
Another one, you see
With false letters, they lied to her
And told her I had died
In only the second year.'

' She sat before her father's door
And never looked more fair;
I stood before her suddenly
And soon I caught her eye,
She clasped her hands before her face
And gave out a piercing cry.
And like a tender flower crushed,
She drooped, then laid there to die '

' The sudden shock had reached her heart;
The story soon was told:
When he came home her father gave
The doctor all his gold
But, she wished not to live
And died right there that day '

' My love lies dead in her cold clay bed
Beneath that willow tree.
All night he lay on the cold cold clay,
Weeping so sorrowfully '
The next day was found,
Where he lay, he died;
They dug his grave and, side by side,
They laid him with his bride.

James Casey 1974