Returnings

John Anthony Fingleton

This old bog road, is deserted now,
With the hedgerows overgrown;
The fields each side are still carefully spaced,
By ancient drywall stones.
The Fairy Mound, is not disturbed –
Old suspicions linger here,
But the cattle and the crops have gone,
And the old people disappeared.
Between the gaps of invading grass,
Old cart tracks, I can see;
From when farmers drove on market day,
Down to the town of Skibbereen.
And where I on rainy mornings,
Splashed reluctantly to school;
The first road I ever travelled –
Of the many later I would choose.
Two ravens, swoop down from the trees,
Unused to been disturbed;
Their dark eyes watch my progress –
Recording every move.
Then they rise and fly off easterly,
To report what they have seen,
Perhaps to ghosts, that once walked here?
Or a far more higher being?
I turn – retrace my footsteps –
Reluctant to go on;
There is a special grief in all returnings,
When the loved ones have all gone.

 

Author's Note: Skibbereen is a town in West Cork, Ireland.

Poetry Atlas has many more poems about Ireland, including poems about Cork.

 


Main Location:

Skibbereen, West Cork, County Cork, Ireland


Other locations:

Skibbereen in County Cork, Ireland