Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WILD GEESE, by MICHAEL JOSEPH BARRY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WILD GEESE, by                    
First Line: The wild geese- the wild geese- 'tis long since / they flew
Last Line: And eirinn, green eirinn, once more shall be free!


THE Wild Geese -- the Wild Geese -- 'tis long since they flew
O'er the billowy ocean's bright bosom of blue;
For the foot of the false-hearted stranger had curst
The shores on whose fond breast they'd settled at first;
And they sought them a home afar off o'er the sea,
Where their pinions, at least, might be chainless and free.

The Wild Geese -- the Wild Geese -- sad, sad was the wail
That followed their flight on the easterly gale;
But the eyes that had wept o'er their vanishing track
Ne'er brightened to welcome the wanderers back;
The home of their youth was the land of the slave,
And they died on that shore far away o'er the wave.

The Wild Geese -- the Wild Geese -- their coming once more,
Was the long-cherished hope of that desolate shore,
For the loved ones behind knew it would yet be free,
If they flew on their white pinions back o'er the sea;
But vainly the hope of these lonely ones burned,
The Wild geese -- the Wild geese -- they never returned.

The Wild Geese -- the Wild Geese -- hark! heard ye that cry?
And marked ye that white flock o'erspreading the sky?
Can ye read not the omen? Joy, joy to the slave,
And gladness and strength to the hearts of the brave;
For Wild Geese are coming at length o'er the sea,
And Eirinn, green Eirinn, once more shall be free!





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