The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, is a sociologist and a poet as well as a former politician. He is greatly loved in this country and we are immensely proud of him.
A while back, I was chatting to a friend and Michael D. came up in conversation. He told me of a time when he and a friend were students and hitching around Co. Galway. A car pulled up and it turned out that it was Michael D. out for a Sunday drive to take in the delights of Co. Galway. He chatted away to the lads, insisted on standing them lunch and showing them some of the more hidden gems of the countryside which he was so familiar with. Later he dropped them back at the station to catch their train to Dublin. It was an afternoon that my friend remembered as being fun, educational and and one of the reasons why he had absolutely no hesitation in voting for Michael D. for President when the time came. He is now in his second term.
Recently, our President wrote a poem to inspire the people of Ireland and beyond. Here it is and I hope you like it as much as I do:
Take Care
In the journey to the light,
the dark moments
should not threaten.
Belief
requires
that you hold steady.
Bend, if you will,
with the wind.
The tree is your teacher,
roots at once
more firm
from experience
in the soil
made fragile.
Your gentle dew will come
and a stirring
of power
to go on
towards the space
of sharing.
In the misery of the I,
in rage,
it is easy to cry out
against all others
but to weaken
is to die
in the misery of knowing
the journey abandoned
towards the sharing
of all human hope
and cries
is the loss
of all we know
of the divine
reclaimed
for our shared
humanity.
Hold firm.
Take care.
Come home
together.
-Michael D. Higgins-
Oh, my! How beautiful!
Glad you like it, Maggie.
Beautiful and purposeful, with hope and humanity. Leadership demonstrated.
Yes, he’s got excellent leadership qualities, Suz.
It gives hope and strength beautifully written by your President …I have passed it on for further reading…
Delighted you like it.
After yesterdays attack on the Capitol this poem holds more truth for me….Such a negative sad way to begin the new year, but the USA will prevail as it always has…
It certainly seemed almost unbelievable from this side of the Atlantic but hopefully things will settle very soon.
Very inspiring, Jean!
I think so too.
👍
A beautiful story, a beautiful poem, I doubt Boris could match that 💜💜💜
Michael D. would be a tough man to match, that’s for sure.
Yes indeed 💜
Wonderful poem!
Yes, Katie. His poetry generally is fabulous.
What a lovely poem Jean.
Really pleased you like it, Arlene.
I can see why he’s greatly loved.
The mention of dark moments…
Strengthening his people…
Reminding them why they should stay strong…
You guys are so lucky to have someone like that, it’s so refreshing to see. It makes me happy, it makes me want to smile.
Yes, we are extremely fortunate to have him.