‘You’re too young
to know about The Troubles,’
the peaceman said.
And the youngman said:
f a t h e r s h o t d e a d
m o t h e r f e l l a p a r t
b r o t h e r f e l l i n t o h i m s e l f
o t h e r b r o t h e r s e n t t o l i v e w i t h o t h e r s
a n d m e i s m o t h e r e d e v e r y t h i n g
i w a s f a r m e d a r o u n d
a n d n o w y e a r s l a t e r
w e h a v e f o u n d o u r s e l v e s b a c k b e n e a t h
a s h a r e d a n d t r o u b l e d c e i l i n g.
Not yet.
No—one’s too young
to know about The Troubles.
“Not Yet” Originally published in Sorry for your Troubles (Canterbury Press, 2013). Copyright © 2013 by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Reprinted with the permission of the poet.