Ardiganny
This is my favourite piece. It was a personal piece that was written about my mum. In it I reflected on the love she had for her family and her homeland - while also bringing myself in briefly as the writer to consider how that same young girl might see it had she been here today. It was written to acknowledge a special birthday. It was wrote in Ireland and at the time there was a writing competition close to where 'petals rest', so I entered it just because... and I am delighted to say it won 3rd place! I felt was a lovley way to honour my mum on a special birthday. ❤️
It consumed her. It was her everything. Every breath she took, Every beat of her heart, Every fibre of her being—It was all for this beautiful place. That and her children; Her two great loves. She had left it some Forty years before, but deep in her heart—It was home. It would always be home. She thinks back to when She was a girl. She sees herself dancing in the hills, Amongst the spiralling blooms of heather, Her laughter echoing In the stillness of the valleys, Her voice carrying out To the enticing scenic views Of the gloriously beautiful Swilly. I wonder how that same girl Would be haunted by that view now—having seen it through older, Wiser eyes. Perhaps she would see it as a thief—Robbing her of her oldest, dearest friend. Still breathtaking—Although now in unspeakable, unimaginable waysThat taints it's beauty. To her—Its memory remains untarnished; She knows nothing of its dark side. The side that pulls tortured souls into its bosom—Helping them escape their excruciating pain, Freeing them from their turbulent existence—Giving them peace in return. This place—Captures her childhood, Her youth—In all its glory, In all its essence. This place—Once so alive with life,And laughter,Captures her soul. All her memories are here, Entrapped forever. Her school days flicker through her mind;Scholar by day—Farm girl before evening falls. This place—Once so alive with music, With friends, With family;Fills her very being. It completes her. She dances,She laughs, She lives;Memories flood her mind. She longs to be back here some day. Even after all this time away—Home is still where the heart is. It is deep rooted within the very core of her being. Even when every branch withers—And final petals fall from her family tree, leaving it bare of branches, Naked to her eyes—This beautiful place Is still precious to her;More than any jewel could ever be. Perhaps more so now—Her now lonely branch stands waving in the winds. She took her first breath here. Born into this place she believes is heaven—It could be. She wants to remain here forever—On Irish soil. But how can she?It would leave her other great loves with heavy hearts. She takes that burden on herself, To spare them—And prepares herself for an eternity On Scottish soil. Even with shattered dreams, She held in her heart that small glimmer of hope—Some day her final destination would be Donegal. Where her heart is always. This place was her home, her heart, her life. This place was her world. She could never give it up. She took her first breath here—She had her first dance here;Her first kiss. She left her heart here. She might have gone away—But she never really left. This place— She loved with all of her heart, All of her soul, Could be heaven. It was certainly as near to it As you will find. Its peacefulness captivates you. Perhaps that is why her prayers were heard and answered. She took her first breath here—And her last. She made her final destination—Donegal. Unexpectedly—And without warning, She departs from her earthly existence,And she was blessed. Her Funeral Mass was said for her, Overlooking the resting place Of those fallen petals. Even though she could not rest amongst them, The branches of that tree united momentarily, In the Drumkeen winds that blew them together. On her homeward journey to her final resting place, She passes the foot of the lane, Where her hearse stops briefly, And her soul overlooks And consumes into its very essence, Her beloved Ardiganny, Where she is at peace. Our earthly bodies mean nothing; It is our soul that lives on—And hers will be forever entwinedIn the heartsOf her two great loves.