MIXED BREW: A COLLECTION OF VERSE

by Dermot O'Hanlon

As its title implies, the items in this collection are very varied. They are mostly humorous, but include more serious subject matter as well. Men, women and children are all here, and animals, too, even a 'Purple Pingo', an almost only and most desirable 'When I was out ,one moonlight night, I met a Purple Pingo. "By Jove!" I cried,and "What a sight!" And the I "By jingo!". . . You'll always recognize a pingo, It's quite unarmed, without a stingo. It's not a cat and not a bongo, Not an ape from out the Congo - Somewhere between a dog and goat, A bird and lizard,and a stoat. Its body's not without a ringo, And it's got a lot of zingo. And quite simply, It's not pimply. . .' . A few titles will convey what I mean. Among the lighter 'The Rakes of Ballycarrig' - a most unusual alcoholic pairing between a man and Tadhg, a stray 'Now Tadhg was a loner, he drifted into town, He liked it a lot that he sort o'' settled down. He was wasted and thin as if straight from famine, Thought bones had no meat and had never seen gammon. . .' 'Clonmallon Bog' - a countryman meets an angel . 'When I was Young' - children see a Wee Folk dance. 'Brian the Lion' - a baby's response to his father's I'm Brian the lion, a dab hand at cryin', I wake all the house with a roar. I cry in my cot for what I've not got, At two or at three or at four. I reign all supreme, and subdue with a beam In my eye as if to say 'please!'. No king or no prince,before,after,or since, Has ruled with such consummate ease . . .' 'What With...' -a rather noisy rural gathering. 'My Family' , 'My Home', 'My Dolly' - a little girl's poems. 'The Con Man', 'The Misanthrope', 'The Doctor', 'The Politician', and 'The Lawyer'. 'Ode to Chlorophyll'. ' O Chlorophyll, O Chlorophyll, oh where would nature be, Without thy carbon atoms and organic chemistry. No grass, no tree, no flower,no shrub Bedewed with morning mist. . . ' 'In Praise of Water', 'Paean to Oxygen'. Poetic licence' - suggestions;to poorish poets . 'Hee-Haw!' - a donkeys' poetical evening.'Mr Ah Soo Wong' - a martial arts expert offers tuition. 'Living Fossil' - a comment on evolution. 'Six Little Troopers' - six little girls show their dancing paces. 'Piseog' - an old country woman torments her neighbours with her 'Bad Biddy Malcrone is a bit of a fligget, Who should have been hanged years ago on a gibbet, And interred at the cossroads,at least for a start, With her toes pointing upwards and a stake through her heart, For Biddy casts spells, and puts curses on wells, And with magic and piseog,this wicked old ciotog, Is a bane to the people who live round Killogue. . .' ' Among the more poetical items 'The Bells of Christ Church': 'How stately they sing the sweet voices of Christ Church, When borne on the winds o'er the town and the bay, Like the music of angels,a message proclaiming, of joy and of peace over river an brae. Each season revealing, In transports of pealing, New worlds that are born for a quarterly stay. In spring. . .' 'The Haunted House' : 'Alone it stands upon a silent moor, Its walls abulge,its brickwork insecure, Its rafters bare,its slated roof agape, Through which,at dawn, the nesting birds escape. A drifting tramp,in search of place to sleep, His eyelids tired,from slumber tries to keep. With joyous heart the vacant house he sees, And breaks in gladly, force his only keys. . . ' 'The Old Mill', 'The Beloved', and 'A New Day'; 'Listen,listen and you'll hear, A crowing rooster,loud and clear, Even though so far away, Heralding the dawning day; And if you listen,quiet and still, A huntsman's horn upon the ill, And the baying of his hound, While seeking scents upon the ground. . . ' Interspersed among the various offerings - almost fifty - are comments on a great variety of things, some fairly brief and aphoristic in nature .All-in-all, a very 'Mixed Brew!.'

151 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2016

About the author

I spent the early years of my life in the Curragh Camp, Co.Kildare, Ireland, before my family moved to Dublin about 1939. My secondary education was at the Dominican College, Newbridge, while I was living in the Curragh Camp, and at St.Andrew's CBS with the Irish Christian Brothers in Westland Row, Dublin. After leaving school, I was a railway clerk in country stations in Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford, and Navan, Co.Meath, for four or five years. I then commenced my medical studies at University College, Dublin, and qualified as a doctor in 1952. I then emigrated to England, and after pursuing ophthalmology as a specialty in St.Paul's Eye Hospital, Liverpool, The Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester, and Southampton Eye Hospital, practized as an ophthalmologist in Colchester, Essex, until my retirement in 1986. I then returned to Ireland to live in Co. Wicklow.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Received ebook copy through a Goodreads giveaway*

The formatting itself was weird, some pages were super faded and others looked normal, many spelling and grammar errors in my copy, and I could not figure out the line format. The extra quotes from other authors didn't make sense to me other than to fill space, they did not seem to fit with what they were between.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

O’Hanlon is both thought provoking and fun. This work is definitely a “mixed brew” with some of the verse feeling like something from the last century (in the best sense), while at least three work in a praise for chloroplast giving it a modern edge. I really enjoyed this book, and will look for more from this author.

[Lourdes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and will look for more from this author. I won this book from Goodreads.