Kerry Memories
Landing Mackerel on the pier head at Portmagee
By Billy Goat
A feathered five from fathoms deep
distils a shower of broken pearls
Burnished silver-blue fish
Breathless. Sunlit. Flop and curl
Give counted out a buyer's dozen
Fresh salted. From a brief affray
drawn by hook and hand
to mouth a searing oratory
From a barbed baptism. Baskets lie
gutted and gulled. Market ready
Heaped and held down by the quay
in hundreds. Priced. Marked and Iced
Glass eyes fixed. Like a thousand
stars reflected from an ancient sea
Supplicants for salvation
Shoaling towards eternity
This anchorage is still. Firm
footed in the bright wave's harvest
Ripples from remembered storms
stirring ghosts in long departed boats
Simon Peter's, Andrew's. The Sons of Zebedee
Brendan in his leather tub. Sailing
Soft and silent as the sea
Tidal. Insistent memory
Back the Strand
(For John B Keane at 70)
Back the strand I have walked
Between the remnants of bagged up pups
Bright blossoms of anemone
and washed back sheep's gut
A leveret has sprung
from where my foot would tread
Hesitant past a saint tombed isle
Archipelago of the dead
Distant bells have voiced their call
consecrating the wind torn hills
Over cloud chased Coomanaspig
Curlews answered shrill
This path rising to a jagged grin
where moon and earth meet sun and sky
In the long grass there to listen
amongst shell and sea song I will lie
Crayfish
They leaned in to the deck and with one move
swung the red crayfish up and out
of the bowel of the boat. Boxed
together. Neutered by the elastic
that held the claw. Antennae still
posting contrary signals. Enthralled
in gladitorial rage. Did not seem to notice
their territories were taken from under them
|
Contact Information
Moorings Guesthouse
Portmagee
Co. Kerry
Ireland
Tel: +353 66 9477108
Fax:+353 66 9477220
E-mail: info@moorings.ie
Bookings
Map of Portmagee
How to Get
Here
The Site
Like what we're doing?
Need more information?
Have a story to tell?
Please, let
us know!
You can also
sign our guestbook
Related Web Links
Suggest some
|
