Colmcille John Montague

Collected Poems Winston-Salem:  Wake Forest University Press, 1990

(I)

On some island I long to be,
a rocky promontory, looking on
the coiling surface of the sea.

To see the waves, crest on crest
of the great shining ocean, composing
a hymn to the creator, without rest.

To see without sadness the strand
lined with bright shells, and birds
lamenting overhead, a lonely sound.

To hear the whisper of small waves
against the rocks, that endless sea-
sound, like keening over graves.

To watch the sea-birds sailing
in flocks, and most marvellous
of monsters, the turning whale.

To see the shift from ebbtide
to flood and tell my secret name:
"He who set his back on Ireland."

(II)

Clamour of the wind making music
   in the elms:
Gurgle of the startled blackbird
   clapping its wings.

I have lost the three settled places
   I loved best:
Durrow, Derry's ledge of angels,
   my native parish.

I have loved the land of Ireland
   almost beyond speech;
to sleep at Comgall's, to visit Canice,
   it would be pleasant!

                              [See also Robad Mellach, A Meic Mo Dé and Tréide As Dile Lem Fo-Rácbus, the mediaeval Irish texts on which this poem is based.]