Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MARKET TOWN, by JOSEPH FRANCIS CARLIN MACDONNELL


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MARKET TOWN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I was ill in the long ago
Last Line: "for the skill of your hands and eyes."
Alternate Author Name(s): Carlin, Francis
Subject(s): Markets; Supermarkets


When I was ill in the long ago
That lately seems so nigh,
They placed a mirror before me so
I could see the passersby;
Market women and trading men,
Children and ballad singers,
Farmers coming to town and then
The noisy auction ringers

With their "Hark, ye! Hark, ye!
At twelve o' the clock in Ballinaree --
Twenty acres of turbary land
To be sold at the fall of the hand."

Again I'm buried deep in bed,
But in this looking glass
I see the folk who passed instead
Of those who now may pass;
Market women and trading men,
Children and auction ringers,
Farmers coming to town and then
The welcome ballad singers

With their "Hark, ye! Hark, ye!
The Blushing Rose of Ballinaree --
Twenty verses of a ballad made
For the best of the Dublin trade."

Maybe a moon in another sky
Shall be as a mirror so
It might reflect the world which I
Would still desire to know;
Market women and trading men,
Children and ballad singers,
Farmers coming to town and then
The rambling notice ringers

With their "Hark, ye! Hark, ye!
At twelve o' the clock in Ballinaree --
A ploughing match with a guinea's prize
For the skill of your hands and eyes."





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