In memory of

As dusk falls
the hills fade
into rolling
infinity

Down
from the heights
of the chalken
escarpment

Like so many
waves
of armed
humanity

Tumbling
over wire
ditches
in fire

Down
from the heights
to the depths
of oblivion

To the river
flowing
unchangedly
to the sea

The fields
yet yield
a harvest
of iron

The fields
yet hold
those who
were never found

The memorial
starkly stands
high on the
chalken escarpment

The fields gently roll
to the river below
in memory of
those lost at the Somme

Longest day

On the longest day
my longing is longest
for what can never
return

A fortnight later marks
the beginning of
what has now
ended

Going forward
looking back
you'll stumble over
the future

Forget I shall not
but the book is closed
it continues
in me

Chi mi'n Tir

Chi mi'n Tir,
I'm playing it again - I see the land.
From afar, the Hebrides call me.
And back I shall come.

Following the light north
Until it's a beacon
at the nadir
of the night

Beckoning
septentrionally
attracted
to the pale skies

Ancient rocks
rising up out of
the wild untamed
untamable Atlantic

From whence many
left
for all time
never to return

Where many
return
lured thither
by unseen bonds

Chi mi'n Tir
I see the land
from beyond
the distant horizon