The Wound

I will heal this wound
by cutting deeply into it,
as if it were hardened
neglected earth.

I will separate stones,
bits of broken glass
from dark, damp
deep earth.

When soft clay is ready
I will plant fairest flowers,
in memory
of my young self.

Rune

Men are doing things
with boats.
I watch them.
They fish and travel.
I live alone.

I am a sound
you cannot understand.
I am a riddle.
I love the taste
of water.

My life is work
and pleasure.
I believe in fair-play,
want everyone
to have enough.

I live by looking on,
wait for something
to happen -
whatever is right
for me.

Moments of stillness,
moments of understanding.
No need to be afraid.
Life has always been.
Life will always be.

^

Biography

Susan Connolly's first collection of poetry For the Stranger was published by the Dedalus Press in 1993. Other collections are Race to the Sea,
Ogham, and Stone and Tree Sheltering Water. In 2001 she won the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry. Her chapbook Winterlight was published in 2002. She lives in Drogheda, Co. Louth.