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)
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
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...
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
'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