Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) teased on Thursday morning that she would be reading a poem written by Bono for the Ukrainian people at Congress’ annual Friends of St. Patrick luncheon that afternoon. It was seemingly out of the blue and the instant reaction on Twitter was simple: “Why?”
At the luncheon, she read poetry by the lead singer of U2, Bono — who is an Irishman himself. It compared St. Patrick to Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky.
Based on tweets, it seems that “Why?” transformed into more of a “What in the world?” The spectacle was truly bizarre.
As flagged by Greg Price, Pelosi told the media Thursday morning, “I will be reading a poem written by Bono about Ukraine which you might find interesting.”
Many people did, but not for the reasons the speaker may have hoped.
Just prior to introducing River Dance at the luncheon, Pelosi read the poem by Bono. To put it in layman’s terms, it was even more cringe-worthy than one would expect.
“I got this message this morning from Bono,” Pelosi said before reading the rhyme. “Most of us — whether we’re in Ireland or here — Bono has been a very Irish part of our lives,” she added.
The full poem can be found here:
Oh Saint Patrick he drove out the snakes; With his prayers but that’s not all it takes; For the snake symbolizes; An evil that rises; And hides in your heart; As it breaks; And the evil has risen my friends; From the darkness that lives in some men; But in sorrow and fear; That’s when saints can appear; To drive out those old snakes once again; And they struggle for us to be free; From the psycho in this human family; Ireland’s sorrow and pain; Is now the Ukraine; And Saint Patrick’s name now Zelenskyy.