Whilst Imbibing In Dark Irish Beer On A Storm-Swept Afternoon In June, At O'reilly's Pub, In Claverstown, County Kildare... Poem by Frank James Ryan Jr...fjr

It pushed hard 'gainst the trees,
sparing none its path;
old maple, leaf naked,
limbs cracked off the bark,
bloody bleeding xylem
from the open pores of each crack.

Then, were the other branches
from the older, herculean trees,
sturdy, sprite and stronger,
perhaps a wee bit wiser,
bending like Clydesdales,
hurling white fences
on hands imploring mercy,
manically waving for help
from the throes of Aos Si,
Celtic god of angry skies,
and his passion and obsession
for the great Emerald Isle,
its lush, fertile fields
trees of blackest bark,
as dark as Ireland's Black Rock beer
that we all well imbibed in,
like wolves to beef,
at O'Reilly's Pub,
just moments before
the storm bore its eye
o'er whitecap surf,
and a gale swept wind
taking sea to land,
as we heard the crack
and felt the earth
that day in June,
at O'Reilly's Pub,
when an old Oak tree
became a tell-tale to-
be be forever told,
whilst imbibing in dark Irish beer.


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Frank James Ryan Jr. / FjR