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Whatever Anger There May Be

Whatever anger there may be festering
after the sun slips behind the hill-field;

whatever baronies of loneliness
are echoing out of an empty hen house,

there is, at least, the botharin that leads
beyond the cemetery at Coole to The Thatch,

and the price of two pints and twenty Major
in his pocket; and a coat to keep

the drizzle of rain off the width
of his back tonight.

well captured Jimmy.

Jimmy,
has the feel of a character from McGahern - and I mean that as a very definite compliment.
Good stuff.

I don't know of McGahern [my bad... no doubt a famous Irish writer], but as Mat said, well captured... and I just love these two lines:

the drizzle of rain off the width
of his back tonight.

... the "width" is particularly impacting for me. Such a visual and with the rain, even moreso.


~ Lizzy

Hi Jimmy,

I like the language that you've used and the imagery it brings with it,
'baronies of loneliness' I love how those words go together - so descriptive.

I'm with Lizzy on width as well.

Is a botharin a road or a path?

Cate wrote: Is a botharin a road or a path?

Yes Cate we have 'botharin 'and 'the auld bog road ' which are similar .
You wouldnt fit any buses on them

Jimmy thats a very fine poem .
It reminded me that I smoked my first Major in a hen house

Jimmy,

I'm with the others on your poem. -- I like it.

Cate
Botharin is indeed a path or, literally translated, a little road.
Bothar (pronounced bow-her, as in crossbow) is a road.
The suffix ...in (pronounced een) means little...
as in Cailin (pronounced colleen) "Cail" meaning woman... and yes you got it... little woman, or girl...

Thanks for the appreciative responses...
appreciated

Jimmy

... oh... just to add...
McGahern is worth reading for an insight into Irish rural life.
"Amonst Women" is an absolute classic.

Lonndubh,
any a surreptitious cigarette (fag !!) I had in a few cowsheds back when...

Jimmy

I agree with Lizzie ....the "width" was especially impactful(!!) but the "baronies" struck me as a tad pretentious...unless I have interpreted it incorrectly?

I like "baronies"...
it is old, rural and gives a sense of place within the imagination...

Jimmy

I like baronies too; sounds big and vast plus I like how it sounds, it's a fun word to say - bar onies. I bet ya, you have a soft roll on that r.
One day I'll go to Ireland for a long vacation.
During the day I'll sit in a café - just listening to people speak and during the night I'll sit in a pub - listening to people speak.

.... no Cate...
when you come to Ireland you come to hear them blather

Jimmy

Thanks for this Jimmy


Anunitu