My first attempt at some good writing. I was EXTREMELY depressed a month ago and as I learned, depression is a good inspiration! Hope you all enjoy it

Frankie the Yankee

Frankie the Yankee lived in a desert
It was his 16th winter
Even though where he lived winter doesn’t exist

Frankie is an Irishman, and he lets everybody know it
He went there once before and fell in love
and kept close attention to the war in the North

He was a funny man, anybody could tell you that
Until in early September he met a girl
and his life changed forever

He did everything he could to make her care
He believed he was succeeding
In the end he did not

It was Frankie’s 16th winter, and that was his flaw
For she left him for an older man
and led his poor heart to the slaughter

This blow crushed him, he felt as if he had nothing left
Things were different in the desert
and he felt that he needed a change

He suddenly remembered the war in Northern Ireland
The efforts of brave men, fighting for freedom
and a patriotic fervor enveloped him


He thought to himself for a very long time
He always looked up to the IRA
and Ireland made him forget, even a little, about the girl

And that in itself was the real reason he left
To try to make her proud of Frankie
and maybe this plan would work

He left a week after Thanksgiving
With his life savings in his pocket
all $2000 of it

He left a note for everybody to see
To make people understand his flight from the desert
and it went something along these lines:

Ireland makes me forget
Its worth the risk
and so is she

In the darkest part of Frankie’s mind there was another reason
He couldn’t kill himself, he was a devout Catholic
But he could get himself killed, that’s a different story entirely

Frankie got a bus from the desert to NY city
He saw the country he was deserting before his eyes
and he did not care

when he got to the city, he stayed in a shabby hotel
and contemplated his next move
How to get to Ireland

A week later his chance came
He talked to a man at the docks
for a ship to freedom, peace of mind

He paid $500 to get on that ship, a stowaway
and he felt it was worth every penny
and 2 weeks later he was off

He spent his Christmas on that ship
The rolling waves, the cramped space that was his quarters
and for a moment, he wished he was home

Indeed home missed Frankie as well
Many tears were shed over him
The desert was different for many people

The woman of Frankie’s affection was baffled
“why would he do that for me” she said
“He obviously cared about you” was the most common reply

Frankie caught glimpse of Ireland 2 and a half weeks later
and his heart skipped a beat
“home” he said to himself

He landed in Donegal bay and something clicked inside him
The green upon green, the rolling hills
and he briefly forgot about the girl

On his 16th birthday he got lodging in Derry city
In the Bogside, Catholic ghetto, made so out of hate
and set out to do his “job”

He fit in quite well in Derry
He was funny, charming, and a patriot
“Aye, look, its Frankie the Yankee”
and that how he got his name

Many young Irish ladies took to him
He was polite, but did not make a commitment
His heart was still set on a the girl, enjoying herself without him

Slowly life went on back in the desert
People were starting to forget about Frankie
and so was the girl

In his 17th winter, Frankie joined the IRA
They handed him a rifle and told him to wait
and so he did

On the 12th of July the Orangemen came
to spread their sectarian slogans and hurt the Catholics
and the Bogsiders were ready for them

A British army patrol came to protect the Orangemen
They were off guard, they thought the IRA quit years ago
but soon they were very much suprised

Frankie fired his rifle, and the battle began
frustration and revenge were weapons, not lead
800 years of oppression were settled on that street

News reached the desert of the IRAs campaign
and everybody knew Frankie was involved
they watched the news in disbelief

There was a letter in the mail for the girl that day
sent from Northern Ireland, she knew who it was from
It read:

You must have heard about my work
You probably thought we would never talk again
And all I have to say is this
You are worth this
You deserve every happiness in the world
War is not what I thought it would be
It’s the opposite
No glory, no medals, nothing, just dead friends
Don’t forget about me, for I cannot forget about you

She did not understand
in her mind he was a freak
NOBODY does THAT for a girl

Frankie was a good soldier, and a damn fine marksman
His popularity soared, people admired his courage
and he was proud of himself

The thought to himself a lot
“its not just for her anymore
its about the people I defend”

10 years later, the desert changed little
Mother heard a knock at the door
and opened

“Hey mammy, I’ve missed ya”

She stood dumbstruck at the door
Frankie was no longer an innocent child, he was a man
scars all over him
and he was home

“Its been 10 long years
I wont be staying forever
I need to do some things”

Word of Frankie’s return like a brushfire in the desert
Frankie saw old friends and was happy
Something he didn’t feel for a very long time

His friends had changed, as he did, some were married
Some had amazing futures ahead of them
But the girl never came to see him

He thought, as he always did
He loved being home
But he loved the girl, so he had to do something

It was noon in the desert
The girl was having lunch
and there was a knock at the door

“I need to talk to you
why haven’t you come to see me?”
Frankie said

“Why did you do it?
What makes ME so important
to go off and DIE for me?”
She replied

“Because when you left me, I was crazy
I didn’t realize it at the time, I felt perfectly sane
I wanted you that bad”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that”
she said

“We talked for a very long time before you left me
I told you how I felt, and you still did it”
said he

“ I was attracted to him more! Why don’t you understand that”
she countered

“And that’s the very reason why I left
I thought that if I came back a brave soldier
you would care about me and leave him”
“I can’t do that now”
and lifted up her hand
a ring was on her finger

Frankie couldn’t comprehend that
He thought to himself as he always did
and said

“Im leaving now, I came back to do THIS, and I failed
During my absence I have gone through many pains,
yet none compares to this”

He then lifted up his shirt
there was a grievous scar across his chest

“I got this a year ago
the RUC gave it to me
When they thought they caught me”

“And what you just did hurt me more than this scar ever will”

“You will probably never see me again,
I don’t know how much longer I have to live
and I honestly don’t care anymore”

So after a year in the desert, Frankie got back to Derry a month later.

The people noticed a change in him
“That Frankie’s a cold one” they said

He all his effort into the army
He intentionally risked his life time and time again
and in the process saved many people

A year later he was head of the IRA in Derry
His leadership inspired many
and recruitment soared

4 years later, Frankie’s 30th summer
he gathered his men
all 2000 of them

“I’ve been with you boys for half of my life
we’ve gone though many things
I ask you for one more favor, we have enough men
I think we should free this city once and for all”

The men understood the seriousness of his voice
they were ready

“We have 2000 warriors, not soldiers, WARRIORS!
Like myself, I’ve grown up here.
I think that peace is in order
But in order to achieve that peace we need to fight
No more Guerilla war, a concentrated offensive
Like our fallen heroes of 1916"

The men were riled up.
They have been waiting for an opportunity like this forever
But what Frankie said next made them full of patriotism
the likes of which a man could physically die
but his spirit fight on for eternity

“THIS IS OUR TIME
WE MUST SHOW THEM NOW
THEY HAVE MORE MEN PHYSICALLY
BUT WE HAVE GENERATION OF FENIAN DEAD
TO RISE WITH US”

The men were cheering now
weapons over their heads

“In the works of Bobby Sands
OUR REVENGE IS THE LAUGHTER
OF OUR CHILDREN”

They sent away the civilians
It was the IRA vs. England
and only one possible victor

They set off at daybreak of a Drizzly July
Weapons at hand, knowing the peril at hand
The battle had begun

They blew the bridge so the Brits were cut off
They took the city rather easy
All that opposed them was the guildhall

Frankie led the attack personally, fire in his eyes
He took out all the frustrations of his life on that one assault
and single handedly added 5 notches to his rifle

A day later the counter attack arrived
They had 20,000 troops, tanks, and helicopters
and pushed the IRA back to the bogside

The defense was desperate, but they were determined
This was their last chance
and they fought like men possessed

By the end of the week the Brits lost 5000 men
whilst the IRA lost 700
It was now obvious who the Victor was now

Amidst the roar of rifles and explosions
a song was heard from the Bogside
“Low lie the fields of Athenrye”
a song of misery and woe

Many men actually ran out of bullets
They were undeterred , they threw rocks
Nothing could stop them

Another week past
another 500 British casualties
another 600 Irish
Frankie made a decision

“We must surrender we are lost
I will turn myself in to save you all
people will remember us for a thousand years
you are all heroes
God bless you all”

That’s exactly what he did
He sacrificed himself to save his comrades
Frankie was to be executed by firing squad in the morning
But the rest were to be thrown in prison

They marched Frankie out
he was not afraid
They put him again a wall
and for the last time he thought to himself:

I feel nothing, this is what I’ve wanted for so long
Its strange, I feel so at peace
She’s STILL worth it
Its over, thank god

They fired
and Frankie fell
that was the end of him he was 30 years old
he died truly at peace

On the 1st of August Frankie was buried
15000 people attended his funeral
It was a week of sadness

For 2 days people went up to his coffin
To pay their respects to a new maryter
amongst the 1300 other IRA dead

The procession set out, it started to rain
It was 5 miles to the Cemetery where The IRA buried their dead
and they were walking it

It seemed as if they were barley moving
all 15 thousand of them
It seemed as if even the clouds were in mourning

6 of the IRA men who escaped the battle carried his coffin
Faces blank, carrying their fallen chieftain
and quietly crying under their sunglasses

They sang his favorite song
“The fields of Athenrye”
and more tears were shed

The sad truth is that Frankie isn’t the only dead IRA man
generation after generation fought and died for Ireland
and Fathers, and sons, and sons sons, dies for it

They came to the cemetery
a patrol of brits came
got out of their Land Rovers
and actually saluted Frankie

They placed the coffin, draped in the Irish flag
on a stand before he was buried
and the old traditions of Ireland war dead were commenced

The 6 men, all with guns, stood next to the coffin
and fired 30 shots in the air, one for every year of his life
out of respect

People were given a chance to pay respects over a microphone
and one by one they came
each with their own story

The First to speak was an old woman
with youth in her eyes
and said

“What that man did will be remembered forever
Our children will grow up singing songs of his courage
hundreds of years from now”

At the edge of the crowd, the woman that Frankie loved watches
“This is it” she told herself
and a tear ran down her cheek

At last a man came up carrying a small sheet of paper
“This is a note we found in his pocket after the execution
I think it would be appropriate”

it read:

To the people of Ireland,
I came for her
I stayed for you

The girl heard this
She finally realized how much he cared for her
and because of her, he was dead
and she understood.

Frankie was put in the ground
Amongst the fallen comrades of old
who fought and died for the same dream as him

So that is the story of Frankie the Yankee
and how he died for love
and how much he was loved in return
and didn’t even realize it