Cornucopia
When we were young, we went to Wexford
With our Aunt to her bungalow ‘The Retreat’.
We would search the county for treasure hordes
Of wild blackberries to make fools[1] as treats.
She would tell us tales of a Sabre-tooth Rabbit
That came into her garden and ate her plants.
We’d lie in wait, hoping to try and nab it
Or search under hedgerows crawling with ants.
We’d hang over the fence as tractors went by
Or when farmers passed with flocks of sheep.
Sometimes one would curiously find its way
In and we’d chase it through the compost heap.
Our Aunt had half an acre to the back.
We’d go on adventures, armed with sticks,
Beating down giant nettles, giving them a whack!
We’d reach the stream, rub dock leaves and play Poohsticks[2].
On rainy days we’d sit inside; a peat fed
Fire lit. We’d be snug and warm, our Auntie
Catching forty-winks while we read
Looking back I realise, our days under those
Irish-grey summer skies, sweet simplicities,
Are all a part of life’s great treasure trove;
The golden horde of our memories.
Inner Tartarus[5]
We lie in bed; our room is dark and cold.
The blankets tucked about us, sleep tightened.
You snore a softer lighter noise, your hand
Clutches your pillow, head lies in its mold.
I lie awake my mind Persephone[6]
Is raped by his persistent nature. Dread
Shadows the tousled gardens in my head,
Creeping to where I stand defiantly.
It’s nearly four years since he lost his hold.
Freed from the stygian[7] abyss I walk,
But I am always walking on a baulk
For his shadow’s still stalking Hades[8] bold.
I lie awake and take your hand in mine.
With you I know my mind will heal in time.
The Last Judgement
Monks of Augustine
First manned the light. Weighing souls…
The Hook[9] stands god-like.
[1] Blackberry fools are an ice cream desert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_fool
[2] A game which first appeared in The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
[3] British comic strip by Reg Smythe. appeared in The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror since the 1950s
[4] Buntys were British Comic anthologies for girls first published by D.C Thompson & Co in the late 1950s.
[5] Tartarus is an abyss in the Underworld overseen by the god Hades in Ancient Greek Mythology and was used for suffering and torment. It was also the prison of the Titans.
[6] Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who was abducted by Hades to the Underworld. The story is commonly known as The Rape of Persephone which is played on in the poem.
[7] Relating the river Styx, stygian means hellish or gloomy.
[8] God of the Underworld in Greek Mythology.
[9] Hook Head Lighthouse, Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford. Originates from the 12th century and was worked by the local Augustinian Monks for around four hundred years.
