Also Known As Being Irish Poem by Lynn Anne Brown

I'm a Tree Elf
Well more accurately
A Human Tree Elf
But since I'm in this form
The Human Part is pretty obvious
It's the rest
That could use
A little explaining
And a little understanding
Of the Irish Spirit
That winds every bit of Life
Into a ball of Yarns
To be told Later
On Winter Nights
By the Fire

A Tree was planted
The Day that I was born
In a stand of Oak
Kept sacred and Apart
By an Inheritor of the Arts
Who once called himself
A Copenhager
When asked
What his religion was
By those who would have held
Catholic against him
Yet being Irish Themselves
Were entertained
By a story he wound
Just for them

Or was it
Was there something
To his tale
Of an offspring church
Established by his Grandfather
Or so it went
Where it's Priests
Rode a circuit
Round
Between the Places
They were Welcomed
Bringing everything
They owned
In cargo bags
Carried by
A trusty Horse

They said
He could talk to horses
And horses talked to him
Telling him what
They needed
In exchange
For that Trust
And he would honour that.

He was also known for finding water
And being a cattle rancher
And knowing how to build a house
And loosing the fingers on his right hand
When he helped to build the Church in Town
And serving as Reeve, (it's kind of like mayor)
Of a Small Ontario County
Unchallenged for more than 30 years
Who as Justice of the Peace
Would after his own night of drinking
Pass by the local Jail
To make sure the drunks had been released
So that they could drag their hangovers to work with them
As they suffered through their morning chores
“Punishment enough” he'd muse laughingly

For being discreet in his dealings
With those who faced troubles
For sitting in the back pew
When his rank entitled him to take the front
For settling the lingering tension that still held between
The Orange and the Green.
For believing that local folk
Know best how to govern themselves
For sleeping sitting up, though sometimes it seemed
He didn't sleep at all...
This Guardian
Who Celebrated
Simply being Irish

Who through his words
And the way he lived his life
Inspired an a desire to understand
How to make things work
So they worked for everyone

Tall Order Yes
But much easier
When you get to work
With other Elves
Because...
Because well...
When given the Opportunity
We Helper Elves like making things
And if we can
We like to make things Good.
Because we like to live the Good Life, when we can
Which makes the work, worth Celebrating