The Mother o' Shaun - Cathal O’Byrne

Shaun stood six feet or so, with his head
            up near the rafter,
He be to stoop when he came in the door,
Shuttin' out the sunshine, but his cheery
            hearty laughter
Brought more brightness than the streak
            o' light that lay along the floor.
And ye'd think it was a hive o' honey
            bees among the heather.
Or ye'd think it was a ring o' bells
            through sunny summer air,
An' ye'd maybe think 'twas bees an' bells
            amoiderin' together.
But it be to be his heart that made the
            music everywhere.
An' I wish I'd see him standin' in the
            shadow there above me,
And see his white teeth gleam, his blue
            eyes glow,
Though the other boys are near to me to
            cheer me an' to love me.
Shaun had the hearty ways with him
            they'll never, never know.
But the big worl' called him always, its
            wonder called him loudly,
So he bent his head with his loving kiss
            beneath the lintel low.
An' I prayed "God guard him always "
            an' I prayed "God bless him" proudly,
I'm his mother, ye'll be mindin', an' I
            knew he be to go.

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Cathal O’Byrne (1867 – 1957) Ireland
(also sometimes listed as Cathal O'Bryne)
Source: The Grey Feet of the Wind by Cathal O'Byrne (1917)