And catch the tide of empire and arrogance and the Irish Sea rising

Excerpt from The Harbour

And frigates with thirty-six guns, cruising

the outer edges of influence, could idle

and enter here and catch the tide of

empire and arrogance and the Irish Sea rising

and rising through a century of storms

and cormorants and moonlight the whole length of this coast,

while an ocean forgot an empire and the armed

ships under it changed: to slime weed and cold salt and rust.

Composed by Irish poet Eeavan Bolan, whom I met while studying abroad in the British Isles (on the Northern Ireland portion of the journey)

To join in on the green-trend fun o' the day:

Photos from t-b:

Santa Barbara mission, in the early throes of dating husband

Fierce croquet on the green, last Easter

Tomato on the vine at my parents, last summer

Owl at the San Francisco zoo in September 2009

Cows on my walk last month

Today in green, searching for a lucky clover (and my still lost, and missed, earring)

My "celebration" of the day ends at wearing green- and I think we're having baked potatoes for dinner, which seems Irish in some round-a-bout way.

What a funny day.

But a happy one to ya.

And even if you don't find that 4-leaf clover, remember:

"Being deeply learned and skilled, being well-trained and using well-spoken words--this is good luck."

(Buddha)