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Saturday, June 20, 2020

World Heritage Sites revisited: Glast-on-Berry -- a Duallade in Forty Two Septi-syllabl'd Strophes

"Glast-on-Berry Ruins"
   I
days of 
Good King 
Harry*
     (sing,
"Derry, 
down, down
derry...")
     *That's 
Harry
One: no
hare, he --
     no 
Lily-
Liver'd 
Larry -- ...
     when 
Norman 
yeomen, 
merrie,
     made 
Saxon 
maidens
wary,     
     there 
ran 
rill rouged
cherry
     which 
wash'd well- 
wooded 
prairie
     whose
trees did
berries 
carry -- 
     one 
lesser 
tribu-
tary
     to
ruby'd
River 
Quarey.
     'Twas
baptized
Beck o'
Berry...
     but
(derry
down, down, 
derry) 
     let 
not my 
telling 
tarry.

     Be-
hind its 
estu-
ary
     lay, 
once, 
monas-
tery.
     'Twas 
founded
out of 
Kerry --
     from
Kerry's
local
dairy
     (run
strictly
cash 'n' 
carry 
     to 
service
Tipper-
ary) --
     this 
house of 
Glast the 
Hairy --
     the 
former
mercen-
ary
     turn'd
wand'ring
mission-
ary --
     where 
mendi-
cants aged 
sherry
     and,
tho' of
Vikings
chary, 
     thought 
life to
rarely
vary.

     A-
lack! One 
Febru-
ary,
     fate 
lapp'd the
ordi-
nary:
     a 
bout of 
beri-
beri,
     de-
liv'rin' 
punch 'n' 
parry
    ('mongst
symptoms:
dysen-
tery, 
     a 
corro-
lary
scary),
     o'er-
fill'd Glast's 
ceme-
tery,
     jam-
pack'd the 
mortu-
ary
     and 
turn'd life
(derr, down, 
derry)
     ex-
ceeding
dreary...
very!

     But 
whoa! Tall 
tales grow
airy.
     She 
becks -- the
Bedtime
Faerie.
     Still, 
whilst 
use the 
jerry,
     which,
nights, be
custom-
ary,
    pray
pray 
hale "Hail, 
Mary..."
     for 
blasted
Glast-on-
Berry!

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