My brother is standing with his face pressed against a leg of the table
and hes asleep. Dad lifts him, staggers across the room, places him in the
bed by my mother. I climb into bed and my father, still in his clothes,
lies beside me. Im hoping hell put his arms around me but he goes on
singing about Roddy McCorley and talking to Margaret, Oh, my little
curly-haired, blue-eyed love, I would dress you in silks and take you to
Lough Neagh, till day is at the window and I fall asleep.
That night Cuchulain comes to me.Theres a big green bird on his
shoulder that keeps singing about Kevin Barry and Roddy McCorley
and I dont like that bird because theres blood dripping from his mouth
when he sings. In one hand Cuchulain carries the gae bolga, the spear
that is so mighty only he can throw it. In the other hand he carries a
banana, which he keeps offering to the bird, who just squawks and spits
blood at him.Youd wonder why Cuchulain puts up with a bird like
that. If the twins ever spat blood at me when I offered them a banana I
think Id hit them on the head with it.
In the morning my father is at the kitchen table and I tell him
my dream. He says there were no bananas in Ireland in the old times
and even if there were Cuchulain would never offer one to that
bird because that was the one that came over from England for the
summer and perched on his shoulder when he was dying and propped
up against a stone and when the men of Erin which is Ireland wanted
to kill him they were afraid till they saw the bird drinking Cuchu-
lains blood and then they knew it was safe to attack him, the dirty
bloody cowards. So you have to be wary of birds, Francis, birds and
Englishmen.
Most of the day Mam lies in bed with her face to the wall. If she drinks
tea or eats anything she throws up in the bucket under the bed and I
have to empty it and rinse it in the lavatory down the hall. Mrs. Lei-
bowitz brings her soup and funny bread that is twisted. Mam tries to
slice it but Mrs. Leibowitz laughs and tells her just pull. Malachy calls it
pull bread but Mrs. Leibowitz says, No, its challah, and teaches us how
to say it. She shakes her head. Oy, you Irish.Youll live forever but youll
never say challah like a Chew.
Minnie MacAdorey brings potatoes and cabbage and sometimes
a piece of meat. Och, times are hard, Angela, but that lovely man,
Mr. Roosevelt, will find a job for everyone and your husband will have
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