A dappled afternoon,
leaf-shadow reaching deeper
into the house, and a sense
that the glittering oak leaves
would soon change colour.
Newsreaders wore black
while Britain waited in rain.
Suddenly, a raven, flying very close,
landed in a tree near our house
and called, and called, and called
beyond doubt. We felt sure then
that something had happened.
Seán Lysaght's most recent collection is New Leaf (Gallery Press); he has also published prose accounts of Irish wilderness: Eagle Country (Little Toller) and Wild Nephin (Stonechat Editions).
leaf-shadow reaching deeper
into the house, and a sense
that the glittering oak leaves
would soon change colour.
Newsreaders wore black
while Britain waited in rain.
Suddenly, a raven, flying very close,
landed in a tree near our house
and called, and called, and called
beyond doubt. We felt sure then
that something had happened.
Seán Lysaght's most recent collection is New Leaf (Gallery Press); he has also published prose accounts of Irish wilderness: Eagle Country (Little Toller) and Wild Nephin (Stonechat Editions).
