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