Oh! Arranmore, loved Arranmore, <br />How oft I dream of thee, <br />And of those days when, by thy shore, <br />I wander'd young and free. <br />Full many a path I've tried, since then, <br />Through pleasure's flowery maze, <br />But ne'er could find the bliss again <br />I felt in those sweet days. <br /> <br />How blithe upon thy breezy cliffs <br />At sunny morn I've stood, <br />With heart as bounding as the skiffs <br />That danced along thy flood; <br />Or, when the western wave grew bright <br />With daylight's parting wing, <br />Have sought that Eden in its light <br />Which dreaming poets sing; <br /> <br />That Eden where the immortal brave <br />Dwell in a land serene -- <br />Whose bowers beyond the shining wave <br />At sunset, oft are seen. <br />Ah, dream too full of saddening truth! <br />Those mansions o'er the main <br />Are like the hopes I built in youth -- <br />As sunny and as vain!<br /><br />Thomas Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/oh-arranmore-loved-arranmore/
