Austin Clarke Poem by Francis Duggan

A symbolist in many ways Austin Clarke the beauty in his words with me remain
A throw back to the Celtic bards of Ireland and will we see the likes of him again?
Yet as a poet he is not highly rated which seems away beyond me to explain
His lost heifer has strayed into the bogland and is disappearing in the mist and rain.

To say he had a way with words an understatement as he had in him the great gift to create
And though his poems were surely born of genius the literary critics him still under rate
For he was what you would call a true wordsmith and those words to many writers don't apply
His poems were born of Celtic mysticism and greatness of him is hard to deny.

In his life time he was the quiet achiever and he was never lionized even in his own Homeland
And that he was one who was never highly rated is something that I find hard to understand
For into his poems he put so much thought and effort and the poetic heights he reached attained by only few
He paid his homage to the Goddess Poesy and until death to Poesy he was true.

Perhaps the last link to the Celtic twilight and his poems and plays and novels to his greatness testify
And though by many he is under rated he left good works to be remembered by
The Lost Heifer and The Planter's daughter two marvellous poems a credit to his name
And Austin Clarke in his words is still living and surely he deserves a greater fame.