MY MA

If my Ma went to heaven
She’d be in a place like Gallagher’s
A restaurant in Temple Bar
Where they serve “boxties”
Corned-beef and cabbage
Steak and potato
Or seafood, if ya like

And she’d drink Paddy’s whiskey
Without any guilt
Feeling the airy sensation
of casting off her “dry drunk” status

And she’d listen to the music
The wooden flute and mandolin
The tunes she knew when just a girl
In the county of Waterford

Then she would order up
The whole wide world’s
Very best bread pudding
With extra rum and raisins
Served with clotted cream,
A huge dollop of white whipped cream
Garnished with a sprig of mint
And every floor and surface in
Every “foundry” as she called them
Would gleam like gold
And every refrigerator and white stove
Would be glistening white from the
Generous use of Arm and Hammer paste
And John Kennedy would always be president