At Sea
the greater the net
the more the mending
the vaster the ocean
the longer the waves
i)
sew snip
restore our nets
brats stuffed in pockets
tied on waists
keep us from harm
we enter boats
hazel frame and ox hide
bob on lisping seas
you watch over us Brigit
drive our way
shoals of glinting backs
steady our vessels of skin
stay the billows from pouring us
a living offering to the deep
monsters of the sea
cry out your name
when danger overwhelms
resting on your steady thoughts
they find their way unhurt
ii)
on solid ground
I find myself canting
neither fluid nor firm I turn
to you again
day dawns yawns subsides
months stretch long then end
seasons hand one to one
each to the next
in orderly procession
and every twenty nights
I light your flame again
as your festival reminds us
to prepare our fishing gear
ready ourselves to face
the leaping shoals
the rhythm of your flame
guides me to wakening to duty
to the long-made promise to live
as best I can
inviting stilling
urging me onward
you are my compass my rudder
my anchor and my steady star
on the eternal shifting sea
Mael Brigde
Copyright Casey June Wolf (2015)
Currach in Dunquin Harbour (1960), geograph.org.uk - 544728