Saturday, October 21, 2017

September 2017 Cruise on the Shannon River



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inis cealtra and Mountshannon

On the road that runs behind the harbour at Mountshannon,
Apples hang bountiful from high garden walls.
There are figs and grapes too
As we walk through a maze
Enchanted.

All these towns along the Shannon remind me of my childhood years
In Gardens lush with Fuchsia, hydrangea, climbing roses,
The old Refectory, church steeple, grey stone, mossy walls,
Walks across fields of soft sodden years
The earthy scent of the forest.

I almost expect my grandmother to be sitting outside a house
Knitting an Aran jumper,
Nut brown hands
Chatting with strangers
Passing the time of day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inis Cealtra

A cormorant poised on a river marker,
Wings outstretched
As we say goodbye to Mountshannon

And I think of the saints who came to these shores
To Holy Island so long ago.
The round tower peak, still high amid Ash and Sycamore,

the ruins of a monastic site,
A place of peace on these lakeside shores
A place in my heart.















Shannon river September 2017

Notes and memories

Swallows follow our boat upriver
Silvery flashes in noonday sun.
Reeds nod in unison
And up by Corehlin Bay
A bevy of swans rise from inky waters
Into a blue noon.

15/9/17

A gaggle of ducks
Sweep over the brown marshland Of Lough Forbes
Where swans silently slumber
And hedgerows extend ruddy sweet haws and hips
Of early Autumn

The river is swollen
With sweet Autumn rains
Rich ripening haws illuminate
Buttercup meadows,
The shape of the breeze in tall reeds.

Passing showers
An alder sapling
In the lock gate

All along the river's edge
Nuts and berries
Autumn red

Rainbow
Bridges the town connecting
One home to another

18/9

River fog
The clarity
Of robin song

Fog
Caught in gorse webs
Day lifting

Jamestown Canal

September morning
Crossing the Canal,
Mist lifting all around
Along the bank
Fog trapped in webs
Draped across gorse