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The Irish poet Brendan Kennelly died on 17 October, aged eighty-five. At an event for his eightieth birthday, Kennelly had said, he wanted to be remembered by his poems. His poem \u201cOliver to his Brother\u201d is one that stays with me.<\/p>\n
The name Oliver still suggests Oliver Cromwell in Ireland, so deep are the scars left in the national consciousness by Cromwell\u2019s holocaust in Ireland: massacres of thousands of soldiers and civilians by the New Model Army at both Drogheda and Wexford in 1649, the execution of large numbers of Catholic clergy, the transportation of thousands of women and children to Barbados, to work on sugar plantations.<\/p>\n
So, poem\u2019s title, \u201cOliver to his Brother\u201d, is loaded. In addition, the title announces that the poem\u2019s speaker is Cromwell himself, and to expect a private address.<\/p>\n
Loving brother, I am glad to hear of your welfare<\/em> The text is a letter. Its first word, \u2018Loving\u2019<\/em>, is deeply ironic. The irony continues in \u2018glad\u2019<\/em> and \u2018your welfare<\/em>\u2019. The second line reveals that this letter is a response to one telling him of his children, at least two of whom seem to be living with their uncle. It is also suggested that they enjoy freedom: \u2018cherries\u2019<\/em> evoke summertime, also \u2018travel far\u2019<\/em> suggests the outdoors and independence. This clashes implicitly with the harsh discipline of an army in the context of the military man Cromwell.<\/p>\n The first sentence, spanning three lines, ends in \u2018cherries\u2019<\/em>. The reference to cherries introduces smell, taste and colour \u2013 sensations that have been absent so far, and immediately intensify the sensual appeal of the image and make it more memorable. Until this word, the poem has been reflective, cerebral, with slight hints at outdoor pleasure.<\/p>\n A loving father, Cromwell finds such delight \u2018excusable\u2019<\/em> in his daughter \u2013 implying he is less happy about his son enjoying the innocent pleasures of life. He adds, referring to his daughter, \u2018whom I bless\u2019<\/em>, requests and looks forward to correspondence from her. He is concerned for her wellbeing and suggests to his brother that he ought keep an eye on the child exercising: \u2018Cherries and exercise go well together<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n Next, his thoughts turn to his son, also in his brother\u2019s care. For him, Cromwell asks for a more serious upbringing: his brother should council him, \u2018he will need it\u2019<\/em>. A much more serious life is expected for his son. Cromwell as a leader in the English revolution, a signatory to Charles\u2019 I arrest and subsequent beheading, in the first bourgeois revolution in history, expects his son to be prepared to enter a life of politics and militarism. Kennelly then reinforces the irony in the line sending \u2018affection\u2019<\/em> to brother\u2019s family, highlighting the sense of \u00a0Cromwell the family man.<\/p>\n This is followed by a transitional line \u2018Let sons and Daughters be serious; the age requires it.\u2019 And now the age comes more clearly into focus. It is a brutal age, showing at this early stage of capitalist history, now that the bourgeoisie has seized power, it will exercise great force to supress any challenge to its power. Be this in Britain or in Ireland. \u00a0<\/p>\n This thought links the poem\u2019s first half with its latter half: \u2018I have things to do, all in my own way<\/em>\u2019. And then Cromwell, who was a supreme rebel in English history (decapitating king and establishing a parliamentary republic) states: \u2018I take not kindly to rebels<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n Cromwell continues the English tradition of colonialism \u2013 does not bring to Ireland the emancipation of England, and is responsible for genocide.<\/p>\n This ominous, threatening statement comes at line 14 of 28, in the exact middle of the poem.<\/p>\n Now the attention turns away from the family to \u2018I\u2019, Oliver Cromwell, military man. As the poem\u2019s speaker, Cromwell relates an actual historical event in which he was instrumentally involved:<\/p>\n
And that our children have so much leisure<\/em>
They can travel far to eat cherries.<\/em>
This is most excusable in my daughter<\/em>
Who loves this fruit and whom I bless.<\/em>
Tell her I expect she writes often to me<\/em>
And that she be kept in some exercise.<\/em>
Cherries and exercise go well together.<\/em>
I have delivered my son up to you.<\/em>
I hope you counsel him; he will need it;<\/em>
I choose to believe he believes what you say.<\/em>
I send my affection to all your family.<\/em>
Let sons and Daughters be serious; the age requires it.<\/em>
I have things to do, all in my own way.<\/em>
For example, I take not kindly to rebels.<\/em><\/p>\n