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AFTER AUGHRIM by EMILY LAWLESS

Poem Explanation

First Line: SHE SAID, 'THEY GAVE ME OF THEIR BEST'
Last Line: YET STILL THEIR LOVE COMES HOME TO ME
Subject(s): IRELAND;

The pale dead faces, the scattered limbs,
⁠The desolation, the horror there!
This is the end of rebellion's dreams,
⁠After Aughrim, after Aughrim fair.
The moans of the wounded, the dying groans,
⁠The weeping mothers, the fathers in despair,
Who sent their sons to the English guns,
After Aughrim, after Aughrim fair.
Our cause was lost, our hope was vain,
⁠The gallant struggle ended there,
Our brave were killed, our chiefs were slain,
⁠After Aughrim, after Aughrim fair.
O William, the bloody, the cruel, the cold,
⁠May God have mercy on thy soul!
For many a heart to the clay is gone
Through thee, and thy English rule.
And still we strive for liberty,
⁠And still we meet with an English foe,
But some day we'll be free, we'll be free,
⁠In the far-off, gay and gallant land of France.




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