Griffith Avenue to Dollymount Avenue, Frances D'arcy to Frances Power, Daughter to Mum to Grandma

Tree lined Griffith Avenue, no. 365, your first and beloved home,
A sanctuary of white linen table cloths, far from it you had no need to roam,
To school and back to warm your dear Dad's slippers by the fireside,
Faithfully awaiting his return from work, his youngest joy and pride,
You, his “best customer”, who warmed his heart as well as his weary feet,
After a long day working his hairdressing salon on Grafton Street,
Until that heart gave way, one awful day, when too early was he taken,
But with you forever, your love being such, not even death could it shaken.

It was to Grafton Street that you, too, were bound by fate,
Working in exclusive Switzers where you would meet your mate,
He was a great dancer, his son followed in his dancing shoes,
But before that son was 'ere a twinkle in his eye, it was a coup,
de foudre, For the man from Waterford, who dinner danced with you,
So well and to whom you promised, 50 years ago this June, to be true,
You saved your coffee break money and all you possibly could,
To add to your new Dollymount Avenue home Switzers furniture of mahogony wood.

Give up your job when you take your vows, the government did then insist,
In the kitchen left alone, your only company, the clock's tick-tick-tick's,
The beautiful young bride you had been, awaited your of-his-era, husband's daily return,
You created a home, But, no doubt, for your old life you did dream and yearn,
'Til the arrival of a distraction, and another, and another, and another,
Then two more at once, followed by another two at once; of eight you became a mother,
Never stopping to complain, There was no-one to listen at any rate, No time to contemplate,
your lot, when your own Mum, our beloved Nana, needed shelter and later nursing, You didn't hesitate.

To give refuge and succor, Your limitless capacity for goodness and love once again so brightly shone,
Tested, beyond normal human endurance, over subsequent years; but that's all forgiven now, all gone,
The present and the future, are the currency you choose now to invest in and freely spend,
To cash in on each and every day which dawns, When to your beloved garden you can tend,
Read your books, Watch your favorite TV shows, enjoy a cup of tea/miwadi, a walk,
Meet up with your children, grandchildren, your friends, or on the phone to them just talk,
Happy birthday, my dearest Mum, and Thank you for teaching me, always, to follow my star,
I wish I could be with you today but know you are with me, close to my heart, though I'm far.


I'm using some of those “kisses in my pocket” from you I'd saved from years ago to make me feel closer and to ease the pain of being across the miles today,
All of my love,
One of those distractions, 
Linda x