I
Our stars on either side – herb robert, tormentil –
The reeds we walk between are lovers whispering.
II
They shelter with us behind the drystone wall,
The men who laid these grass-smothered boulders.
III
In the far field a jackass and his jennet
Safeguard the mare and her dozing foal.
IV
Butterfly-orchid ghosts, sand-martin ghosts
Where the Owenadornaun used to flow.
V
I pick a buttercup for Issa’s Japanese
‘Dewdrop world’ to find a place in Ireland.
VI
Spring tides have left behind a dead dolphin
And jellyfish like melting paperweights.
VII
Meadowsweet, loosestrife sway along the ditch
Waiting to cross over at the end of our days.
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