REMEMBER WHAT MARINA SAID?
You'll never do it.
You know you'll never do it.
Admit you know you'll never do it.
The teacher said so.
The doctor and the priest agreed.
They know you were born to fail.
So did everyone at the Cake Sale
And the Book Sale.
Xavier Mulligan TD, not famous for his candour,
Told you to forget it
As did everyone at the Annual General Meeting
Of the Ballyspanner Football Club.
Wise Tynan swears it's totally beyond you.
Wise Tynan knows the story inside out,
He's got the whole thing sussed.
And when you say that you can do it
You fill wise Tynan with disgust.
And now, for the first time,
After long thought, and then some more,
Let me tell you what I've never told you before.
I who supported you
From the day that Clifford beat you
Up against the classroom door
For your stammering and your left-hand writing,
I tell you now, my friend of a lifetime,
You'll never do it.
Remember what Marina said?
Failure is your daily bread.
What's this?
I told you to lie down,
Cover your face with your hands,
Keep your mouth shut.
Be seen, I said, not heard.
What's this?
God in heaven, you're up,
You're opening your heart, your mouth,
Wild flower, you're doing it,
I can't believe it, it's impossible,
You're the most impossible man I've ever known,
You won't lie down,
You live as if you don't believe in right and wrong,
You're out of your mind,
Your mind feels good, being rid of you,
No right, no wrong,
Just you,
The most impossible man in the world,
Song.
--BRENDAN KENNELLY
