The death of Seamus Heaney

Heaney objected and used the 198-line poem to remove any doubt as to his patriotism: "Be advised My passport's green/ No glass of ours was ever raised/ To toast The Queen."


Dear beloved soul brother as they lay you down to rest
I will take up pen and write a poem for you and yours
Bellagy boy man yellow bittern you will always sing
the soul song of the north of Ireland for you are all it
you and your way with turn of phrase and wit of gem
you told us who we were and why between the lines
we breathe the fresh air of sheets blown in the wind
hung on  your mammy's clothes line outside in the yard
Seamus beloved soul brother there will be no goodbyes
for you have left the essence of yourself with us forever
for you have finished the book of life and now you get
to wake up to the big cosmic world of the one breath
I am sure they all came to meet you your mammy
your daddy and the little brother along with dogs
and maybe a cat or two and lots of birds and cows
for you are in heaven in eternal bliss where no words
are needed for you the very breath of life itself
I will see you everywhere now in wind and rain
in the dance before me of nature you will be there
as sure as day follows night you will be there and
you will visit all the freedom fighters who died
catholic protestant it never mattered to you anyway
trival things like that never did but death mattered
you never mentioned much about the war at all
you cared deeply and felt the sorrow of the years
you felt the bombs and the stench of death as only
a poet can do and you wrote them lines to help
to heal the sorrow of the past dear man of god
you put pen to paper so often in your name you did
you sent me a postcard years ago to say my poetry
did you good and I read and reread everyword
until it pestered me so much I threw in it the fire
and forgot to look at the picture of the frontside
you quoted thomas the rhymer and like he said
i will dance on your grave yes my soul brother
i will dance on your grave and drink a toast too
for you were my articultator  always to the north