A Return To A Coral Beach In Connemara Poem by Seán O Muiríosa

I walk down by the rocks to the crunching coral
To the place of faded memories,
Long faded, dispersed like rain clouds on an August night.

My attention’s focus is the sea’s expanse,
The shifting, bulging waves of melted marble,
A mirror tossing the grey sky.

Can’t help but feel this sea was a source.
Left me living on the morsels of memories,
Fed by a day here when the sun was burning strong.

I walk out on the rocks that jut into the sea,
The clouds above are ready to burst.
Wishing they would might just break this curse.

I return to the coral, lie down in all its crispy yellowness;
A seagull drifts and hovers unnaturally above –
An autumn leaf caught in a whirlwind

And then let go. The first grey drops fall,
Patter and roll down my skin, a belated release.
I rise and walk to the whisper of coral…