Selchie

 

I.

On a sand bank
Left high and drying
By the ebb tide
A woman sleeps
And a man’s shadow
Brushes

The tongued-out halves
Of shellfish.

Strands of nibbled kelp.

He’s reaching out

Slowly

Carefully

 

To snatch
A folded
Soft grey skin.

His to keep.

 

ii.

A hasty wedding:

Two sets of vows.
“I do…”
And
“After seven years
I’ll set you free…”

But every day
While he takes
The boat out
She’s searching
Frantically.

 

iii.

A woman running

And children look
For their mother

A woman running

And her husband
Stares down
At his sea-chest
Clawed open
And a soft skin,
Its colour drifting
With the tides,
Missing.

Gulls circle

A shawl

A dress

Shoes

Footprints

And further
Further
Further out

A seal
Ram-raids an incoming wave

Vanishes…

 

 

 

Kevin Patrick McCann
Illustration Nick Victor

 

A new book of poems

Buy at:
https://amazon.co.uk/Still-Pondering-Kevin-Patrick-McCann/dp/1788768671/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Kevin+Patrick+McCann&qid=1581612715&s=books&sr=1-4

 

 


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