Monday 14 March 2016

Coming Home

Though I am a born townie I always come back from a weekend in the country with some regret. 
So here’s a poem written in my head on the way back from Galway, in an effort to delay the inevitable 

Coming home


When I hit Kinnegad
I image myself moving backwards
and Kinnegad becomes Athlone
and I am crossing the river
that marks the beginning of the West

And the Toll booth at Enfield
becomes the Battle of Aughrim
where General St Ruth lost his head
and the flight of the Wild Geese began

And this high rise metal bridge
marks the place where a lopped tree points
to the county rising field by field
 to Slieve Aughty

And at the turn off for the M50 South
I veer into country lanes and low lying bog,
late night ceili and free blackcurrant juice
hedgerows thick with yarrow and cowslip
and meadow sweet and fraughans

And I know I’m nearly home.

Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2016

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