Back in the sixties they were in their prime
But women quickly age and lose their bloom
And on sunday evenings they would dance till two
In the old Castle Ballroom in Macroom.

Their faces come to me from years ago
And they would be in their fifties today
The passage of time on their figures show
And they use tints and dyes to cloak their gray.

In the Castle Ballroom they experienced their first love
And in the Castle Ballroom they shed their parting tears
And the hurt of lost first love it lingers long
For weeks and months and sometimes even years.

Some of them settled in their old Homeplace
Where their childrens children attend school today
Whilst others took the migrant boat and plane
To live and work in cities far away.

Their youthful beauty in my memory stay
And I still see them dance in Ballroom in Macroom
But that was years ago and far away
And women quickly age and lose their bloom.

Francis Duggan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-the-old-castle-ballroom-in-macroom/