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Yesterday, tribute was
paid to the late "poet of the people", Dara McDaid, at the
unveiling of a plaque outside his ruined hovel. Ficara O'Ferrule of
The Poets Spiral (Spiraling ever outwards, spiraling ever
inwards") described him as "the last of the primitive
poets, who wrote neither for money nor prestige, but because he had
something to say."
Dara McDaid, said Mr
O'Ferrule, had never had critical acclaim from the so-called literary
establishment, but time would show who was truly great and who were
just posers.
At this point in the
ceremony, the mortar around the plaque crumbled and the plaque fell
to the ground, face down.
Dara O'Daid, said Mr
O'Ferrule, was against the shoddy, no matter in what area of life it
raised its ill-shaped head. He then recited the last poem written by
Dara O'Daid:
Damn you all!
Damn the moon, the sun, the stars!
Damn the slithering slimy leaders,
Damn their peace and damn
their wars!
Damn the light which shows corruption,
Damn the dark which doesn't
show -
Damn all the knowledge in the world,
Damn the things that we don't know,
Damn pretenders with a mighty damn!
Damn potential, realisation,
What I ain't and what I am!
Damn, damn damn,
Damn, damn, damn,
Damn, damn, damn,
Damn, damn, DAMN!
The recitation was greeted
with loud appreciative applause by the assembled poets.
Nobody, said Mr O'Ferrule,
could have stated more eloquently their dissatisfaction with the
world and those who tried to run it. He indignantly refuted the claim
that O'Daid had sold the poem to low-life group, The Idiots for a
bottle of whiskey and a crate of beer. (The lyrics are included in a
song on The Idiots' new album, Pure Noise.)
Mr O'Ferrule and the crowd
were, at this point, forced to step back smartly as the front wall of
the hovel collapsed, burying the plaque under a pile of rubble. One
of the local poets sustained an injury when he was struck on the shin
bone by a large pointed stone.
Mr O'Ferrule complained of
the neglect of the Urban Council which allowed the birthplace of the
town's greatest poet to fall into such a poor state of disrepair. His
committee would be taking the matter up with the Urban Council. In
the meantime, a discussion in the Town Hall would take place this
Sunday on the relevance of Mr O'Daid's poetry to the present
political and economic situation. All would be welcome.
On a related note, this
reporter is privy to information that the council, who owns the site,
have sold it to the well-known firm, Glass Cages Limited, for a
proposed development that will include up-market high-rise flats and
a shopping complex. |
