Dear Annie: Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Dear Readers: March 17 is a day to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Born in the 4th century, in Roman Britain, Patrick was taken captive by Irish pirates at the age of 16. He turned to God and Christianity and escaped. He returned to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. When he dies on March 17, 461, he had established churches, monasteries and schools, paving the way for Christianity to become the largest religious group in Ireland. Below are two fun poems from the famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats.
“Down By the Salley Gardens”
By William Butler Yeats
Down by the salley gardens
my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens
with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy,
as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish,
with her would not agree.
In a field by the river
my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder
she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy,