Rathfriland

Rathfriland Morning

And some time make the time to drive out west… 

In September or October, when the wind

And the light are working off each other…

                                                Seamus Heaney

Or one morning make the time to brave the moody skies.

Call the collie to your side as you walk 

to the pond—you will find the farmers’ lane 

is quiet with Holly Blue butterflies 

above the hedgerow and occasional 

warblings of a wren. Honeysuckle 

will be blooming bright amonghawthorn and

ripe blackberries. Land, like clouds, 

will spread far beyond. Stand still at a pasture gate

and wait for cows to meander near.

Their soft eyes will look up from eating, and

one by one they’ll gather to you, jostling 

to be closer. At the end of the lane, 

two swans glide away fromtall grass, 

small cygnets following slowly behind, 

as if distracted by all that shines. 

Ned and discovered this poem at The Seamus Heaney Homeplace. My poem Rathfriland Morning was inspired by some of this poem.