Poem of the Week: Gaza

Our townland is named for Eunan, for his holy well
And for his saintliness which led him to write
The Lex Innocentium in the seventh century,
His law of Innocents, the first law of its kind.
On the battlefield he had seen a mother’s body,
Her child attached to her breast in death,
White milk on one cheek, blood on the other.
This witness led him to set forfeits
For the killing of women and children in war.
This witness led him to set law about them,
That those who kill the innocent
Be taken up and justice asked of them.

The well water is black at sunset this time of year
In this country of the west, of gull and kestrel.
In this cold country of eel and swan
This is the saint’s well which is for all time law.

Eoin McNamee is director of the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre. His new novel, The Bureau, will be published in March 2025.