Tabem Riror - Sligo Poets

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   Sligo Times 26 April 1913
              A FAREWELL

Fare thee well, thou fairest flower,
Sweetest rose in Beauty’s bower;
In my arms I fain would hold thee,
In my bosom fondly fold thee.

But alas! our paths dividing
We must follow Fortune’s guiding;
Never can our lives be blended,
Our sweet dream of love is ended.

Had we never loved so dearly,
Had we seen our fates more clearly,
Had we thought of Life’s to-morrow,
There had never been this sorrow.

But the Life looms dark before us,
When chill Lethe’s stream rolls o’er us,
When the past has been forgiven,
You and I shall meet in Heaven.

Then our broken hearts forgetting
We shall cease our vain regretting
With a stronger love to bind us
We shall leave all care behind us.

Fare thee well, my soul’s one treasure,
Be thy portion peace and pleasure,
My poor heart with grief is breaking,
Since my leave from thee I’m taking.

                          TABEM RIROR


  Sligo Times 11 October 1913

                SHE AND I

Those happy hours in days gone by,
When hand in hand through sylvan glade
We wandered neath the forest shade,
              She and I.

How cloudless was the summer sky,
How softly did the breezes blow,
When we were happy long ago,
              She and I.

But years relentless quickly fly,
Dispelling dreams thin weaved as foam,
No longer side by side we roam,
              She and I.

What boots it now to weep or sigh,
To mourn her loss with useless tears,
We two shall meet beyond the years,
              She and I

                                Tabem Riror

  Sligo Times 14 June 1913
      A SONG OF SADNESS

A weary way of doubts and fears,
A pathless waste of hopeless years,
And at the end, why nought but tears
           Awaits my soul.

What might have been, had Fate been kind,
Now haunts my vexed and troubled mind,
And stalks a phantom grim behind
           My spirits heels.

Oh! Would my being take its flight,
Out of the darkness, towards the light,
Unto that glorious Ewigkeit
           That lies beyond.

                                   Tabem Riror



There is no clue as to the identy of Tabem Riror and nothing which suggests that the author is from Sligo. I have no idea what the pen name is meant to represent. None of these poems were found in a search of the internet which suggests that the Sligo Times may have been their only place of publication. This might suggest a local author.

The poems are well-crafted with careful rhyme schemes and good rhythm. The rhyming scheme changes from the first with its rhyming couplets to the second with its three lines end rhymed and a short unrhymed third line in each stanza. The October poem, She and I, is the most intricate with first lines of each stanza rhyming. The repetition of the title as a short final line to each stanza is very effective.

The three poems share a common theme, that of loss, and the language and expression is that of the romantic poet lamenting lost love. "Sylvan glade", "fain would hold thee", "bosom", "nought but tears" are common phrases of such verse. The mention of Lethe and the use of the German word Ewigkeit for eternity shows some learning.

The October poem as well as being the most intricate as regards rhyme and form also has the simplest, most direct language making it the most impressive of the three.

 
 
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