Or in my case, afternoon. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up on March 17th, and if you’re from South Boston, it’s a pretty big holiday. Everyone in town is suddenly Irish, the world turns green, and beer - also green for the day - takes on extraordinary importance. So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’d like to offer up a poem about beer by an Irish author and poet, James Stephens.
A GLASS OF BEER
The lanky hank of a she in the inn over there
Nearly killed me for asking the loan of a glass of beer;
May the devil grip the whey-faced slut by the hair,
And beat bad manners out of her skin for a year.
That parboiled ape, with the toughest jaw you will see
On virtue’s path, and a voice that would rasp the dead,
Came roaring and raging the minute she looked at me,
And threw me out of the house on the back of my head!
If I asked her master, he’d give me a cask a day;
But she, with the beer at hand, not a gill would arrange!
May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may
The High King of Glory permit her to get the mange.
James Stephens
For more poetry by James Stephens, click here.
For more poetry of all sorts, visit today’s host of Poetry Friday, Becky’s Book Reviews
1 comment:
Nothing like a pissed off Irishman, especially if he's pissed off about beer!
The 17th is High Holy Day for some of the Irish here in Manchester . . .
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