Dear Ireland

Dear Ireland,
You are a green island of small minds and big opinions.
You cannot decide if you want to lead our global march towards a more accepting and loving future,
Or if you want to bury your head in an archaic system of oppression.
You showed the world your pride when you were the first country to vote in the name of love for all,
But you dishonour yourself as you still refuse to support my sisters, your mná, as we fight to reclaim our bodies.

Ireland, you are tainted by the guilt of your past,
Yet refuse to learn from your mistakes.
Ireland, you are disgraced in your lack of efforts to help those who seek refuge.
How fickle your memory is of times when your own people have been forced to flee your shores
Ireland, your flaws and faults are many.
Shame and guilt are stitched into your essence,
So unforgiving and staunch, they blend into colours of green, white, and orange.
A too often harrowing truth is what pushes so many of your children away from your suffocating hold,
For more promising lands across the sea.

Even still Ireland, you are mine.
You are the mother that birthed me,
And the village that nurtured me until I was ready to fly.
Ireland you give me the roots to my past
To the Celtic heritage, whose language, poetry, and stories are engraved in my bones.

Ireland, you are every freckle on my pale skin,
Every cup of tea that I cradle like my life depends on it.
Ireland, you are gentle hills and wild coasts,
You are forests bustling with fairies and castles filled with ghosts.
Ireland, you are an island of warriors,
An island of people who will fight for their beliefs.

Ireland, you are my family.
You are the friendly face that will always welcome me home.
Ireland, you are the glue that holds me together,
Yet you are also the turmoil that can tear me apart.
You are the hand that pushes me away, but then beckons me home again once I leave.
How can you be both the centre of my heart and the thing that would break it?

Ireland, you have come so far,
And still have a long way to go.
But Ireland,
You must first decide in which direction.