Editorial: ‘poetry is something that will always remain timeless'

‘I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils.”

What is it about the words of William Wordsworth that strikes a chord with so many? For me, it is a poem that I don’t have to rummage back into the depths of my mind to remember, the words tumble out every spring when I see those buttery delights swaying in the wind.

It offers hope and light, a burst of colour after a long, dark winter.

As a journalist, it’s not surprising that my favourite subject in school was English. It wasn’t just that it came naturally to me in a way that maths never did, it was an interest that was harnessed by my English teacher Avril Owens in Ballincollig Community School.

Her classes ignited my intrigue of Shakespeare, encouraged my connection to the poetry of Eavan Boland and inspired how I spilled words onto a page in the shape of an essay.

Which is why, one of my favourite parts in every issue of Irish Country Living is the poetry corner. When we did our rebrand of the magazine at the end of 2024, we decided to leave a slot open for reader engagement. It could be a letter from a reader – or even a rant – or perhaps we could shine a light on some poetry, we mused.

Back then though, we couldn’t have anticipated the wealth of poetry that readers would send, and these days we are never short of something to print. What is most beautiful is that it evolves with the seasons. Farmers – more so than most – are very in touch with nature, with the movement of one month easing into the next.

In January, Bríd O’Donnell from Bunclody, Co Wexford wrote of how “we watch the ditches closely now, green tips daring to show themselves. The river runs quicker, brighter, no longer weighed down by winter.”

As I read the poems each week, I think of our readers wandering the fields, musing upon their subject, then sitting down with pen and paper, considering their next line, their turn of phrase, the gentle rhyming that gives their poem that structured beat

February arrived and Marion Roche, Bandon, Co Cork, welcomed the thrush who “told me of the brighter eves to come, and warmer days of hope to fill my heart. Nature will awake its annual growth humdrum, and farmers, too, will make a busy start.”

In this week’s poem, Seán McDermott from Abbeyfeale in Co Limerick shines a light on the busy lambing sheds. “And comes the day, the count is made, each small life checked and sure, another season carried on, as it has done before.”

As I read the poems each week, I think of our readers wandering the fields, musing upon their subject, then sitting down with pen and paper, considering their next line, their turn of phrase, the gentle rhyming that gives their poem that structured beat.

People also feature and one of my recent favourites was a piece by Ellen Dunphy from Prosperous, Co Kildare who reflected on how “Mam was always the first awake,” and that her mother, “knew the sound of every step coming down the stairs.

Who needed toast, who needed tea, who just needed a quiet minute before the day began.”

But as morning turned to evening, her poem revealed that “now when I pass the kitchen late at night and see the small light left on, I think of Mam. How love lived here in warm mugs, open doors, and the way she always said, ‘come in out of the cold’.”

To all our poets, as long as you continue to write, we are delighted to publish your work. Isn’t it wonderful that in this technological era, writing and creativity are still very much embraced and enjoyed.