On the Great Blasket
I walked through foundations,
Ruined remnants of a rusting past,
Echoed wisdoms of the soul,
Distilled from the mountains
From the heather and from the stones,
Filtered through the thoughts of others,
To be preserved by the hearth.
When one sickened
They sent the boat to the mainland.
Back and forth it went
On its four voyages,
To fetch, deliver, diagnose and to retrieve.
Only then did they realise
That they must leave
For others' safety.
Tradition lived
Among these homesteads
Of caring and of leigheas
Only now,
It too comes under threat
From different expectations. |