The Women of 1916
by S M Jenkin
Call out the trumpeter,
let the flags fly at half mast –
for they are dust now, and
past remembrance
Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell, the picture of noblisse
oblige, propping up bloody Pádraig Pearse;
torn to shreds by the English press –
Irish historians complete the forgettance
women who made their mark,
women who made a difference,
women their daughters could be proud of – were
finished with silence
Margaret Skinnider working out the odds –
at this trajectory, would a maths teacher survive this war?
A declaration of independence, a dice throw of the gods.
A sniper, a smuggler, a survivor;
women who made their mark,
women who made a difference,
women their daughters could be proud of – were
finished with silence
How many of the hundreds dead,
their stories untold, unsought, their intentions misread?
resolved to direct or avoid the path of the story;
how many had principles, how many hungered for glory?
women who made their mark,
women who made a difference,
women their daughters could be proud of – were
finished with silence
Call out the trumpeter,
let the flags fly at half mast –
for they are dust now, and
past remembrance
Second generation Irish writer SM Jenkin has performed her work internationally and has supported Lemn Sissay, John McCullough and Atilla the Stockbroker. Her work has been published in numerous literary anthologies and magazines including Anti-Heroin Chic, Bloody Amazing, Boyne Berries, Dissonance and The Interpreter’s House. See: https://rosemarymcleish.co.uk/
