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Away with the Fairies- The Travel Diary of an Irish WebFairy

for my Great Uncle Dick. Goodbye

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12 Comments
by
Niamh
, 09-08-2007 at 03:10 PM (1877 Views)
About a half an hour ago, my mother recieved a phone call informing her that Uncle Dick(richard) had died of a heart attack. He hadnt been feeling well yesterday, and took a turn today. He was found dead at 5pm this evening. He was eighty seven yesterday. This is my tribute. Rest in peace.

Uncle Dick.

Sad news we have just heard,
News of you; gone to the light.
They said that yesterday you felt ill.
Today your sickness won,
Now you will feel no pain.
I will always remember you,
How light-hearted and youthful you were.
Of the time you told me of your cycle trip to Galway,
Of how you got half way there, but had to turned back.
Fairview strand, your homeland had been bombed,
Was small damage, mistaken for Britain or Belfast.
Rumours said the Germans had bombed the Zoo also,
That the lions were loose, terrorizing the streets of Dublin.
And monkeys swinging from roof to roof.
How you had returned home to find your mother cooking,
And learnt that you brother slept through it all,
Unaware of what happened;
That the Zoo was intact, the animals were not loose.
The seed of excitement that thought created died with the truth.
Apart from the Strand, Dublin would still be Dublin.
That was good enough for you!
I am sad to hear you are gone. You lived to see one more birthday,
You were eighty-seven yesterday.
I will never hear you anecdotes, your witty repartees!
You have moved on to a new life,
And now the ears of Angels shall hear your tales instead.
Farewell Uncle Dick.
May your new life be the great adventure you always wanted.
Rest your self. Your soul can no longer feel pain.

Updated 08-22-2008 at 12:17 PM by Niamh

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Comments

  1. 's Avatar
    Oh my ... sorry to hear this. My condolences to you and your family.
  2. andave_ya's Avatar
    Sorry, Niamh. Hope everyone is taking it ok.
  3. Neo_Sephiroth's Avatar
    Aye. I, too, would like to wish everyone will be well. My condolences.
  4. mtpspur's Avatar
    I am sorry for your loss and will think of you in my prayers.
  5. Niamh's Avatar
    Thanks everyone. Although i didnt know him as well as i should have, i was very lucky a fee years back to interview him about life growing up during the second world war for my folklore and oral history project in college. I had also interview my mams friend Angela (Bill cullen of Penny Apples fames sister). She died tragiclly last october. Sad to sad they both died within a year of each other.
  6. Virgil's Avatar
    My sympathies Niamh. Eighty-seven is a good age. Amazing on how many husbands go shortly after their wives. You know, not feeling right the day before was probably a precurser. A lot of heart attacks are not sudden. At his age, I don't know if it would have made a difference, but for younger people if you get a hint of something being wrong (I know it's hard) you might be able to save someone's life by taking action right away.
  7. Bakiryu's Avatar
    My condolences Niamh. Hope you and your parents can recover from this sad loss.
  8. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Your poem is a lovely tribute to your uncle. Please take care, you are in my thoughts my friend.
  9. B-Mental's Avatar
    That was beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, it was very touching. Your words transcend mountains, oceans, and reunite us all with hope.

    Peace unot your uncle.
    B
  10. Niamh's Avatar
    thanks everyone. I really appriciate you thoughts. Makes me remember why i love this site.
  11. applepie's Avatar
    Your poem is a lovely remembrance of someone. I'm sorry to hear that you all lost someone who sounds as if he added such life to your lives. You are in my thoughts and prayers ~Meg~
  12. littlewing53's Avatar
    what a beautiful post...thank you for sharing...