Nicholastown, a poem

I was a child in Nicholastown
Halcyon days heaped high to the sky
Where Nolan’s Fields were the ends of the earth
The little Ring, our coliseum

Sun drenched mornings in Jack Farrell’s yard
Where bottle tops were gold
Football games played hard on the road
And world class goals were scored

A round of golf on Mrs. Lambe’s lawn
Five holes with a bean can cut
With a hurley stick for an iron
Our hole in ones were putt

‘Neath summer skies, cotton cloud, azure hued
The circus daily played
‘Cowboys’ and ‘Colours’ and ‘Carnivals’
Make believe, the only stock in trade

Christmas Eve in the living room
The promise-full scent of Christmas pine
The little crib and the fairylights
That crystal, magic, moment, was mine

In time, those days without a care
Combined to make the years
And from the Little Green, we gradually progressed
The Big Green quick to show us
Just what a friendly face, our Nicholastown possessed

Those years to decades now have turned
And I have come to see
It was the goodly, kindly, caring people,
That made Nicholastown a wonderland
For all the kids and me

To those great people one and all
Some still here, alas some gone
A heartfelt, loving, thank you -
For a treasure chest of memories
Worth all the wealth of men

— Joe Kelly.