Comrades
by Eva Gore-Booth
The peaceful night that round me flows,
Breaks through your iron prison doors,
Free through the world your spirit goes,
Forbidden hands are clasping yours.
The wind is our confederate,
The night has left her doors ajar,
We meet beyond earth’s barred gate,
Where all the world’s wild Rebels are.
I read "A Poem A Day" every morning. So when I read it today this poem by Eva Gore-Booth niggled a memory - something I knew I knew but couldn't bring to the forefront.
Of course. As soon as I looked her up and saw she and her sister Constance Gore-Booth together I had it. They were both early proponents of womens' rights. I may have known, and forgotten, that Eva was also an Irish poet. I don't remember reading any of her poems.
I remember much more about her sister Constance, later known as the Countess Markievicz. And that is directly related to all my reading about Irish history, especially all the times the people of Ireland tried to throw off the chains of British rule. Constance was an activist and member of the Citizen Army. She took part in the 1916 Easter Uprising and was jailed at Kilmainham Prison. That's her cell in the photo above. It was so important for me to see the prison when I toured Ireland in 1994. (Previously written about Sept. 22, 2010, "My Last Day In Ireland".)
And while Eva was a poet, Constance wanted to be an artist. This is one of her paintings. I marvel at the lives of these two sisters.
Eva Gore-Booth wrote her poem 'Comrade' about her sister when Constance was imprisoned.
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