The Fascination of What’s Difficult - by
The fascination of what’s difficult
/ Has dried the sap out of my veins, and rent
/ Spontaneous joy and natural…
Irish poetry
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - by
I know that I shall meet my fate
/ Somewhere among the clouds above;
/ Those that I…
The Wild Swans at Coole - by
The trees are in their autumn beauty,
/ The woodland paths are dry,
/ Under the October twilight the water …
The Song of Wandering Aengus - by
I went out to the hazel wood, / Because a fire was in my head, / And cut and peeled…
Human Chain - by
for Terence Brown
/
/ Seeing the bags of meal passed hand to hand
/ In close-up by the aid workers, and soldiers
/ Firing over the…
Beannacht / Blessing - by
For Josie, my mother
/
/ On the day when
/ the weight deadens
/ on your shoulders
/ and you stumble,
/ may the clay dance
/ to balance you.
/
/ And when your…
Going without Saying - by
i.m. Joe Flynn
/
/ It is a great pity we don’t know
/ When the dead are going to die
/ So that, over a last…
In the Garden - by
i.m. my father
/
/ While I was shawling the strawberries
/ with fine green netting, you told me
/ about the cow that swam to the…
Donal Óg - by
It is late last night the dog was speaking of you;
/ the snipe was speaking of you in her deep…
Augury - by
Magnetic winds from the sun pour in
/ and send our instruments akimbo.
/ Nothing runs like clockwork now.
/ As skeletal clouds unwreathe our exposure,
/ panicky…
from Wayside Shrines - by
II
/
/ Had I more than a glimpse of a lake
/ through a break in a plateau,
/ had I not suddenly been forced to…
Mangles - by
Washboards and mangles are on my father’s mind.
/ In conversation he will return to the soaked linen
/ of his childhood –…