MEMORIES When sun goes down and moon appears Amid her starry glow The mind is apt to wander To things of long ago My memories are sunlit days Or blessed by gentle rain It's there I see those simple things I'll never see again. I see the nimble thatcher Light sweat upon his brow His rushes and his scollops No longer needed now His gentle presence now has passed Like last September's rain I miss him and those simple things I'll never see again. Oh how I miss the fireside With every cheek aglow When tales were told of fairies And things of long ago With leprechauns in every bush Along each leafy lane The beauty of those simple things I'll never see again. I still can see those families Of six or eight or ten Saving hay in meadows green By mountainside and glen The women rake as children laugh And gather every grain How precious were those simple things I'll never see again. The tiny school-house on the hill That's silent now and bare Where first I put my chalk to slate And mouthed childish prayer The master's stick was quick and mean And yet despite the pain I sometimes miss those simple things I'll never see again. I loved the country butter I loved the homemade bread The building of the pike of hay The prayers beside my bed For good or ill we've lost some things We'll nevermore regain That's why I love those simple things I'll never see again. When sun goes down and moon appears Amid her starry glow The mind is apt to wander to things of long ago And teardrops fall in memory Of things once thought mundane May God be with those simple things I'll never see again. -- Gerard Maguire (NY) (As I recall, Gerry's roots were in the Cavan/Leitrim area).