Music Lesson: Selected Poems

By Gaye Walsh

Praise for Gaye Walsh and Thats That
Generations of an Irish family cope with decades of personal and political turmoil in Walshs endearing debut novel.
. . . patient and revealing narrative that emanates a spark.
Walsh, a poet, has a keen eye for detail most admirably in poignant moments a less insightful author might deem unremarkable.
A breezy read from a capable talent.
- Kirkus Reviews

Photograph: Russell Metz

This is a diverse collection of poems. The initial poems deal with the death of the poets parents, their early lives together, and the immediate aftermath of sudden death with all the ghostly impressions and shadows such death leaves behind. Some poems dance around an early childhood in rural Ireland in a light way, some not so light, and the darker poems were born from the shadows created by the loss of the poets father. Such emotions common to all, but expressed here in Walshs unique voice.

I recall that when I was about ten years old, I told my father I was frightened of ghosts. He said it was the living I should be afraid of, not the dead. In my innocence, I did not believe him.

Gaye Walsh was raised on a farm in Doneraile, County Cork, Ireland. She now lives in Seattle, Washington.

This is her first poetry collection.

Back cover photo: Russell Metz

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496957900

Gaye Walsh

I recall that when I was about ten years old, I told my father I was frightened of ghosts. He said it was the living I should be afraid of, not the dead. In my innocence, I did not believe him. Gaye Walsh was raised on a farm in Doneraile, County Cork, Ireland. She now lives in Seattle, Washington. This is her first poetry collection.

Book preview

© 2014 Gaye Walsh. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   12/10/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5791-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5792-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5790-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014921894

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Section I The Leo Poems

The Dawning

Daddy

Reflections

In Perpetuity

Given Places

Family Ties

Always Leaving

Whispers

Grave Matter

Moon Relief

Legacy

It’s Our Funeral

Section II Life After Death

Sorrow And Grief

The Missing Gloves

Blue Books

Tribute To A Strong Mother

Curtain Call

The Weeping Willow

December 31, 2003

Come On Home

The Prayer Tree

Atonement

Music Lesson

Life In Acres

What Daddy Never Saw

Evening Song

Shoe Polish

Fairy Tree

No Bridge Left

Clear As Mud

Red Hot

Keeping Time

Seafair

A False Philosophy

Excuse For Excess

Section III A Man, Suddenly

The Facts Of Life

Missing Christmas

What To Do

Full Circle Now

Homeless Boy

A Coming Of Age

Mother’s Keeper

For My Aidan

The Red Soccer Ball

Section IV Fort On The Cliff

The Ashplant

Fragrant Memories

Name Calling

For Daisy

Evening Guests

Eily Nelligan’s Donkey

The Apparition

The Unwanted Suitor

Indelible Scars

Deposed

Death Of Innocence

The Shilling

Progress

The Shearling

Carousel

The Evergreens

Fort On The Cliff

Giving Nothing Away

Dead Either Way

Blackout

Optimism

Labour Pains

Rhyme And Reason

What Purpose Poetry?

Delilah

The Enabler

Gouls

Robbed

Alphabet Abuse

The Highest Peach

May Day 2006

American Blues

The Space Between The Doors

Still, Surprise

Thoughts On Purple

The Silver Bullet

The Art Of Sewing

For My Friend

Woodbine Fever

Dedication

In Memory of Tess and Leo, my mother and father, who will always be here.

I recall that when I was

about ten years old

I told my father I was

frightened of ghosts.

He said it was the living

I should be afraid of,

not the dead. In my

innocence I did not

believe him.

Gaye Walsh was raised on

a farm in Doneraile,

Co. Cork, Ireland. She

now lives in Seattle,

Washington.

This is her first

poetry collection.

Back cover photo: Russell Metz

Also by Gaye Walsh

That’s That

(A Novel)

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SECTION I

THE LEO POEMS

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The Dawning

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The falling of darkness in Seattle

Heralds the dawn in Ireland

When the doctor makes his rounds

And I telephone to ask

How Daddy is doing today.

The pulmonary man

Comes on the line to say

‘We’re at the end here

Pack a bag, come now, come today.’

And then the frantic tears

And fear that I am too late

That all I will find are wax fingers

Entwined with black mourning beads

Closed across a breathless chest

Like I saw his father laid out years before

When Daddy knelt on the floor

Beside the deathbed, in tears.

There is so much more I have to say

And I thought we had years.

Daddy

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He doesn’t