~| b a t t l e . o f . e d e a m h i r e |~



Mahda Righ,
lass of my eye,
oh she was so fair
be it wet or dry
under Irish skies
we'd dance like sidhe
oh, I and she
by and by till the dawn.

Mahda, m'banrion,
ma fionn, the beauty
of the lochs;
we were joined under branch
by such as the Draoi
oh, I and she
blessed by the breitheamh
of my father's tuath.

I left my Mahda
home with child
as the English armies rose
and the aos dana gathered us
my flaithi and I
to ring in the foggy dew...

i took my broken sword
and stumbled blindly home
slipping in the blood
of english and irish,
mixing in the morning
amongst the foggy dew...

i raised my eyes
to Fodla's skies
with the sun bless't sweet Eriu
under lightening sky
watching hundreds die
in the pale light of the foggy dew...

my whistling pipe
stopped suddenly
as i watched the smoke
drift to the sky
and my heart dropped to my knees
as I drew my broken sword.

i cleared the hill
finding smoking ruins
where my town once stood
dropping sword,
I ran blindly home...

that greasy flame
did erase the name
where wandring heart did crave

but all that resides
under Banba's eyes
is my lovely Mahda's grave

and through the glen
i rode again
and my heart went grieving to

`twas their turn to die
`neath the Irish sky
and we fought like men of lore

my grave is a hill
over Inish Fail
brushed when winds blow through

for i savour regret
over glorious death
when I fell in the foggy dew...


© June 25, 1996, h e a t h . h o u s t o n