| James Joyce's Photograph of Ireland |
James Joyce was an Irish writer of great fame. Some of his works are epic, in the truest sense of the word.
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| James Joyce tribute in Dublin |
He also wrote small tender works, such as the poem below. This poem talks of the birth of his grandson and the death of his father. Joyce, being the generation in between, writes of this position.
Of the dark past
A child is born.
With joy and grief
My heart is torn.
Calm in his cradle
The living lies.
May love and mercy
Unclose his eyes.;
Young life is breathed
On the glass;
The world that was not
Comes to pass.
The child is sleeping
The old man gone.
Oh, father forsaken,
Forgive your son.
Life and death--two certain events in one's span.
On this day, November, a baby died nine years ago. His mother, Elisa C. Stilson, has published her journal about the struggles of his short life, and how she viewed each day. A precious book. A painful book. A book that speaks of a mother's love and her fight to hold all together.
