"It can be bitter here at times like this,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"the thorny crown, the hammer blow of iron

into wrist and ankle, the sacred bleeding heart

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They name me Mother of all this grief

though mated to no mortal man."

Lines taken from, and image Inspired by the poem "The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks"

by Paula Meehan