  [decorative A]At night there came unto MacCarthy More A hooded vision with a voice that said, “Go thou straightway and raise a house to God Upon the spot where stands the Rock of Song!” So with the golden lifting of the dawn Upsprang the chieftain and loud called his kerns, And bade them seek the Rock. For many a day They roved the sweeping meads and fens and fells In fruitless search, and ever forth again Relentlessly he drove them from his hold Beside the dimpling waters of Lough Leane. “The Rock!” he cried, “find ye the Rock of Song!” And still they found it not. Then the gaunt chief, His long locks hoary with the frost of years, Girded himself, and turned his tottering steps Abroad in the soft lengthening of the dusk Athwart a woodland close, and saw and heard A little maid, her pitcher held at poise, Singing an old lament in minors clear The poignant, passionate yearning of the soul. “A sign!” the spent man whispered low, “a sign!” And on the spot he raised a house to God. |
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