The biographical page mentioned above quotes the first verse of this poem, which I also found in Irish Come-all-ye's by Manus O'Conor (New York: L. Lipkind, 1901), where it appears without attribution.


THE CALM AVONREE.

Bright home of my youth, my own sorrowing sireland,
My fond heart o'erflows and the tears dim mine eyes,
When I think of thee, far-distant, beautiful Ireland,
And the dark seas between me and you, my heart's prize.
Oft—oft do I sigh for the days of my childhood,
When I plucked the wild flow'rs on fair upland lea,
Or roamed the long day thro' the sweet, shady wildwood,
On the green, grassy banks of the calm Avonree.

Ah, me! could I fly o'er the dark, swelling ocean,
To the home of my heart, to the land of my love,
I'd be up on the wings with an exile's devotion,
And dare every danger the dark seas above.
Again would I roam thro' the fair, leafy bowers,
Where the boys used to drill ere I first crossed the sea;
And I'd weave for my Kathleen a garland of flowers,
On the green, grassy banks of the calm Avonree.

Again would I hear the wild thrush in his bower,
The loud-singing lark o'er the deep, mossy dell,
And the blackbird's soft song on the tall, wild tower
That shadows the clear-springing, sweet "Abbey well."
Once more would I hear the wild cuckoo's notes swelling,
Along the rich valley, o'er moorland and lea,
And the blithe sparrow's chirp 'round my own peaceful dwelling,
On the green, grassy banks of the calm Avonree.

But the day may yet come when I'll see thee soft smiling,
And gaze on thee fondly, fair, beautiful land;
I may yet live to see thro' thy narrow glens filing,
The exiles now cast on a fair, foreign strand.
I may fight for thee, too, ere the trees again blossom,
And see thee, my Erin, yet happy and free;
And my heart may yet rest on thy soft, dewy bosom,
In a green, grassy grave by the calm Avonree.