Proinnsias

Proinnsias

Shawn in my New House

revised 5 November 2022  6 November 2022

Shawn, you vagabond;

You caused me miss my lunch,
In my dream.

There I was,
On what should have been
The Finglas Road,

When I saw you,

Coming
Towards me.

I cannot explain the joy
I felt at meeting you,
After years,

But, in an instant, 
Was aware
We had shared

Contrarian opinions,

On art and life,
Before.

This reflection is not
What delayed my lunch,
But what came next,

For, in my flush of joy,
I asked you to lunch,
But first to view my house.

To my own surprise I led you,
Not to my own home
I had just left,

But my new house –
New to me too, 
As much as to you -

Across the Finglas Road,
Where the cemetery used to be,
But now a mansion stood,

An old house, 
Re-modelled,
To my design.

We climbed  the wall 
To enter by
A modest door.

“This is the front door,”
I said, for
I new no better.

The house was  encased
Adornments,

Transforming it
Into a 
magical thing
Like Barcelona Cathedral.

Inside we found 
Two functional
Living rooms,

But, beyond, 
A further door,
Of glass with oak uprights,

Leading to 
A wonderful foyer,
With stained glass wall -

The visitors’ front door -
And in that foyer, 
Indoor growing trees,

And another door
To a room 
On the other side,

And, to your enquiry,
Quickly thinking 
Of the utility-value

Of a room 
On the far side 
From the living quarters,

I said, 
“That leads to the 
Committee Room,”

But, when 
We went through 
That door,

It led to 
A tower-room
And a winding staircase 

Down to 
A lower 
Level.

The tower 
Was filled with light,
And to prove me not wrong,

There was, at the bottom,
A table and chairs,
For committee business.

And the winding stair,
It instantly occurred to me,
Was not darkly enclosed in stone

Like the stairs 
In Saint Peter’s Church
I had to climb 

To the choir loft
When I joined the choir
At seven years of age,

And found 
Quite terrifying,
Claustrophobic.

So, my new 
Winding stairs,
In my new house,

Was completely open,
And walkers were assisted
By a thin hand-rail.

And then I woke 
From my dream,
And realised 

That I had missed 
My lunch,
For I had delayed too long

Showing you, 
And discovering,
My new house.

Being schooled 
By Carl Jung
I cannot but think 

That my new house
Is a great new 
Enterprise

Or group of enterprises
I am about to engage 
(Intellectually),

At the expense 
Of foregoing
Ordinary things, like lunch;

A great house 
Of multiple rooms,
Some plain, some exotic,

Each room 
A new idea 
To explore,

And a tower 
Of thought and 
Reflection;

And you, Shawn,
Some dorment aspect
Of myself.



Gaudi-style adornments

Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Flamingo) C. J. Jung

Glasnevin Tower Stairs to be re-built (Report Dec 2013)





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