Ballads of Irish chivalry By Robert Dwyer Joyce: Edited, with Annotations, by his brother P. W. Joyce |
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EILEEN'S LAMENT FOR GERALD. |
 | Ballads of Irish chivalry |  |
EILEEN'S LAMENT FOR GERALD.
I
On the bloom-covered shoreOf strong Avonmore,
I've mourned for my Gerald till summer is o'er;
And autumn falls lone
On Kilmore's mountain zone,
But Cleena, still Cleena ne'er heedeth my moan.
II
O, sweet fell the hoursBy Crom's lordly towers,
When we strayed, ever loving, through Maigue's blooming bowers:—
From bright June to May
Was one blissful day,
Ere my true love was borne from his Eileen away.
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III
With gems of red goldGleamed his mail in the wold,
As he strode where the lone druid worshipped of old;
But the young Fairy Queen
Passed there one bright e'en,
And the flash of his bright mail was never more seen.
IV
She bore him that nightTo her palace of light,
In this rock wild and lone by the spells of her might;
And she keeps him in thrall,
The bright prince of her hall,
While she heeds not my wailing, she hears not my call.
V
And thus I must weepBy Cleena's grey steep,
Joy faded, hope clouded, and sorrow more deep;
And I'll mourn on the shore
In the autumn frosts hoar,
Till I die for my Gerald by strong Avonmore.
| Ballads of Irish chivalry | |