Friday Poetry Reflection, June 6th

I realise I have missed the last two weeks for various reasons, but we are back now! This week I have chosen a poem by William Butler Yeats and it is a poem that is new to me, but I know the story around it. The poem is "Come Gather Round Me, Parnellites"

Come gather round me, Parnellites,
And praise our chosen man;
Stand upright on your legs awhile,
Stand upright while you can,
For soon we lie where he is laid,
And he is underground;
Come fill up all those glasses
And pass the bottle round.

And here's a cogent reason,
And I have many more,
He fought the might of England
And saved the Irish poor,
Whatever good a farmer's got
He brought it all to pass;
And here's another reason,
That Parnell loved a lass.

And here's a final reason,
He was of such a kind
Every man that sings a song
Keeps Parnell in his mind.
For Parnell was a proud man,
No prouder trod the ground,
And a proud man's a lovely man,
So pass the bottle round.

The Bishops and the party
That tragic story made,
A husband that had sold his wife
And after that betrayed;
But stories that live longest
Are sung above the glass,
And Parnell loved his countrey
And Parnell loved his lass.

A lovely poem to remember Charles Stewart Parnell. He praises him for what he has done for the Irish and for his love of a women, which was his downfall. I must say, this poem brings back all my Irish History for my leaving cert and could probably write one of the essays we had on Parnell, with the Land War and the Land Acts! It was a time when Irish politics were different and Parnell was a true Irishman and fought for this country in Westminster. Its a pity there was an ignominious end to his political career cause we might have gotten Home Rule sooner then we did.

What do ye think of the poem?