Derek Mahon

I thought of Derek Mahon
As I stared through the window pane
Out at Galway or Roscommon
Greyed out by the rain
Derelict houses and pubs with townland names
Dampened smoke caught in a cyclone in the air
And I thought of Derek Mahon
And how no one seemed to care.

I thought of Liam Ó Muirthile
And the weight of all things
I thought of the tolling of the bells
And all the emotion that it brings.
A cavalcade of sorrow, a blackening of the soul
The first time you feel all right,
And the first time that you sing
And then you lay awake all night
You should be mourning

I thought of a friend of mine
As I came upon the town
Dressed up in his finest suit
Sister in a mourning gown.
Did anyone else even care?
Does everything just pass?
Or are we as insignificant
As a blade of Connacht grass?