March's Poetry Contest Winner: Saint Patrick's Day

Every month, Goodreads and the
¡POETRY! group host a poetry contest. It's a great way to discover and support the work of emerging poets. Join the ¡POETRY! group where you can vote to select the winning poem each month from among the finalists. Aspiring poets can also submit a poem for consideration.



Congratulations to Fiona Honor Hurley, who is our March winner with this poem:


Saint Patrick's Day

by Fiona Honor Hurley





Remember where you came from

You whose name is Kelly, Sullivan, O’Brien.

A land of rich beauty and heroic deed,

Of dripping poverty and oppression.



They said you deserved no better,

You of a selfish, perverse, and turbulent race,

Your blackened field and hungry belly

Were due to your defect of character.



You escaped on groaning ships

That left a trail of bones across the ocean.



You arrived, wretched of the earth,

They said you were filthy and indolent,

Adherents of a foreign religion,

Terrorists in the shadows.



You dug their ditches,

You scrubbed their floors,

You rose,

And became them.



Now you proudly wear the green.

And you say that poverty is the fault of the poor.

You say that refugees on creaking ships

Are like locusts.

You say that those of foreign beliefs

Are a dark looming threat.



May your ancestors rise

And beat you with a blackthorn stick.

May you chew on your shamrock

Until you taste the bitterness

Until your mouth turns green.



Until you remember

Where you came from.

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posted by Cybil on February, 27

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