Making our journey of renewal and promise.

Leaving a heavy London

From the diaspora back to the heartland

And meeting my companion en route

We are tired and weary from our daily tasks

Chorca Dhuibhne calls us back

Giving a heady sense of pleasure

The shepherd is home from the hill

The farmer is back from the bog

The magnificent peninsula of mountain bog and field

Jutting coastline beaten by the powerful turquoise waves

With white water crests washing the shore

Humbles us at the power of the ocean

The vast openess of the land

Hillside kissing the sky

Air is spun with a sensual mist

Nearby in O'' Flaherty''s pub a song is sung of Dingle Bay

In visiting Gallerus Oratory,

We explore our origins in Mesolithic period

A perfectly crafted unique stone building

Fuels the imagination to see in our minds eye

The past and the present side by side

Being in the moment versus the daily sensibilities

Causes conflict and anger spills over

But there is also the chance to speak openly...words of hope...

That God so loved us that he sent his son as a sacrifice to redeem us all

We gradually unwind;

People are friendly not so buzzing busy

Irish can be heard as we are in the heart of the gaeltacht

Meeting old friends and near relatives fills us with joy and sadness

Some we had not seen in 30 a year

Childhood''s memories are revisited and renewed

The lament of the piper plays Carrigfergus

Breaking bread with family relatives

I love this land and these people

And then paused in a silent moment the heart greaves

And words eventually fail us all

By Joe Kelly