Saturday, February 22, 2014

Lazy Beds



Lazy Beds


Lazy was not the word for it
Hardwon. Backbreacking.
Little enough return for effort
Lumpers. Poor nourishment. Fear and Famine

Ridged soil scratched on unlikely hills
Where hope grew better than food
Overgrassed abandoned now
Sower and Harvester gone to grow in Newfoundland

You did not seek to make a monument
Only a meal, or a grave
Yet your Lazy Beds have left a message
Your unintended story written in the ground


Martin Swords
Feb 2014

During the course of my guided walks in Glendalough I often get asked about The Famine of
1840/50.  I explain something about its impact - before, during and after the event - on Irish
History and Emigration to America. I ask people to look out for Lazy Beds as they tour around
The Irish countryside as a connection with this period.

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