Ireland Forever

The gold painted dome sparkles above
As the lights are slowly dimmed.
The curtain rises on the stage
The narrarator's voice a husky, masculine.

The voice tells of the Irish people.
Their coming to their homeland as one.
To celebrate their life, light, and fire
The first scene is the Reel Around The Sun.

They dance in a circle, holding hands,
Around the fiery shadow.
Reeling faster each time
At the music's deafening crescendo.

They raise their hands to touch the sun
Then the stage grows dark.
The audience cheers and claps
For the journey they did embark.

By scene four a lone piper mourns
His cry heard on Uilleann pipes.
The spotlight fixes on him
Through the starry night.

Why he mourns we cannot tell
All we feel is his pain.
That ever-burning desire
To raise his home again.

Perhaps his cry was this:

They had lived there, died there,
Many a blood had been shed.
For their spouse, the homeland,
To her were they wed.

Alas, hunger and famine they had.
So to America they went.
In hopes of a better life
That would be well spent.

But, instead, all they could feel was sorrow
From being far away.
From the country they had built
And vowed to always stay.

They had been unfaithful
To their country dear.
Questions arose in their minds
"What are we dooin' 'ere?"

"Our home is across the ocean.
O'er the bonny hill and dale.
That is where we belong!"
They began to wail.

So over the Atlantic they travelled
To where their proud, Irish hearts longed to be
Through storm and fair weather
They crossed the shining sea.

Upon return to Ireland
They again vowed to not go away.
Through story, dance, and song
They celebrate their culture and history today.

They started to build once more
Working hand in hand
Rebuilding their life
-in their beautiful heartland.

The wheel of seasons turned slowly
From harvest, through winter, to spring
As the world turned and was made new
The Irish new it was worth everything.

They were home and were inspired to sing:

"Erin Go Brach
Never will we leave!
It's Ireland forever
To her we'll always cleave!"