To My Darling Daughter Betty by Tom Kettle is a hugely emotional poem written to his family during the first World War.
A renowned Irish writer, politician, and soldier, Kettle’s heartfelt verses capture the essence of a father’s emotions and the enduring bond he shares with his daughter.
Kettle knew he would never see his wife and daughter again and wrote this poem to send back to them. Tragically, he was killed in battle one day after writing the letter.
His death marked the loss of a brilliant mind and a compassionate soul, leaving behind a legacy that would forever be remembered through his literary works
To My Darling Daughter Betty
In wiser days, my darling rosebud, blown
To beauty proud as was your Mother’s prime.
In that desired, delayed, incredible time,
You’ll ask why I abandoned you, my own,
And the dear heart that was your baby throne,
To die with death. And oh! they’ll give you rhyme
And reason: some will call the thing sublime,
And some decry it in a knowing tone.
So here, while the mad guns curse overhead,
And tired men sigh with mud for couch and floor,
Know that we fools, now with the foolish dead,
Died not for flag, nor King, nor Emperor,
But for a dream, born in a herdsmen shed,
And for the secret Scripture of the poor.
All poem images – copyright Ireland Calling
