Stephen James Smith & Rónan Ó Snodaigh Kila POEM 'The Rhythm of Time' by Bobby Sands @ Nighthawks

I was lucky enough to get to recite this Bobby Sands poem 'The Rhythm of Time' with Rónan Ó Snodaigh of Kila on bodhrán @ Nighthawks in The Cobalt Cafe, North Great Georges Street


http://www.kila.ie/

http://www.StephenJamesSmith.com

The Rhythm Of Time

There's an inner thing in every man,
Do you know this thing my friend?
It has withstood the blows of a million years,
And will do so to the end.

It was born when time did not exist,
And it grew up out of life,
It cut down evil's strangling vines,
Like a slashing searing knife.

It lit fires when fires were not,
And burnt the mind of man,
Tempering leandened hearts to steel,
From the time that time began.

It wept by the waters of Babylon,
And when all men were a loss,
It screeched in writhing agony,
And it hung bleeding from the Cross.

It died in Rome by lion and sword,
And in defiant cruel array,
When the deathly word was 'Spartacus'
Along with Appian Way.

It marched with Wat the Tyler's poor,
And frightened lord and king,
And it was emblazoned in their deathly stare,
As e'er a living thing.

It smiled in holy innocence,
Before conquistadors of old,
So meek and tame and unaware,
Of the deathly power of gold.

It burst forth through pitiful Paris streets,
And stormed the old Bastille,
And marched upon the serpent's head,
And crushed it 'neath its heel.

It died in blood on Buffalo Plains,
And starved by moons of rain,
Its heart was buried in Wounded Knee,
But it will come to rise again.

It screamed aloud by Kerry lakes,
As it was knelt upon the ground,
And it died in great defiance,
As they coldly shot it down.

It is found in every light of hope,
It knows no bounds nor space
It has risen in red and black and white,
It is there in every race.

It lies in the hearts of heroes dead,
It screams in tyrants' eyes,
It has reached the peak of mountains high,
It comes searing 'cross the skies.

It lights the dark of this prison cell,
It thunders forth its might,
It is 'the undauntable thought', my friend,
That thought that says 'I'm right! '

Bobby Sands

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[Seamus616]

focain serious a Stiofán... that "thought" is a primeval wild one definitly.. the bodhrán was brilliant with the words

[mrstephenjamessmith]

@Seamus616 GRMA a cara, I fecked up a bit of it thought unfortunately! Ro is a legend! cheers for lending us your ears.

[blackiron60]

I actually performed The Rhythm of Time at a poetry slam here in Canada and only about two people out of an audience of something like fifty or sixty actually knew who Bobby Sands was, needless to say I had to educate them intensely.

[mrstephenjamessmith]

@blackiron60 good man, but now they know i hope they investigate it more... having said that i am sure they are many inspirational folks out there i know nothing about and hopefully one day someone like you puts me on to their path.

i was pretty pissed i messed a bit up in the middle here, sorry about that!

[ReadersWivesMusic]

you're a legend Steve ..good thing we both got that same bus way back in '03 ..love & respect to you from the Wives Xx

[mrstephenjamessmith]

haha, yeah and a good thing i told you a shit joke and felt the need to rectify it!

[postpile]

STOP KILLING PRISONERS, WORLDWIDE...US, IRAN, INDIA, CHINA, IRAQ

[BrodEirennach90]

Gártha duit!



[allinwith2s]

good man!

[poetrychicks]

excellent Stephen.Well done :o)