The Life of 'AE'

On a mild Spring’s night In the heartlands of Ulster A prodigious child was born For Ireland, to save her A man of modest means Yet formidable wit The mystics he joined A cause to commit In poems and paintings He found self expression Yet through a noble pursuit Would leave his impression He traversed the country On a campaign of recruitment To free the impoverished through struggle And the Co-operative movement With Horace Plunkett and Connolly He struggled for justice Yet the Gombeens and the despots Outweighed Caesar Augustus Though Russell did not stop In this quest for social reform From misery to prosperity One sought to transform But the inconsiderate dogma Of the Irish Free State Meant to delay his mission As the ‘Homestead’ must wait George William Russell grew older Crippled by usury To wretched cancer, succumbed Rest in peace, ‘AE’