Wind from the eastward whose breath goes seaward surely
Over the cold grey rollers that hold me apart,
Would I were a white gull to hasten wither thou goest, —
To sail on wide wings to the isle of my heart;
Home to the lightning lough with a far glimpse of the ocean,
To the hills that surely forget not Conall’s daughter, —
Home to the white strand, and Fanad, and green Inisowen,
And the woods down to the water.
The soaring curlews over the glimmering bog-pools,
Rising and falling across the twilight moor,
Crying and calling like ghosts in the rose-red light of the sunset,
Do they tell the same sad tale they told of yore?
My little white goats that crop the short grass of the forelands,
Do they ever bleat for their mistress, Conall’s daughter,
Far from the white strand, and Fanad, and green Inisowen,
And the woods down to the water?
Often in dreams of the night I see them clearly,
I see the dark hill and the cornlands fertile and fair,
I smell the blue turf smoke going up from the valley,
And all the same as it was when I wandered there;
Dreams of the night, — but yet like wounded birds I clasp them
Warm in the hungry heart of Conall’s daughter,
Far from the white strand, and Fanad, and green Inisowen,
And the woods down to the water.
(Cicely Fox Smith)
More Poetry from Cicely Fox Smith:
Cicely Fox Smith Poems based on Topics: Night, Light, Cry, Home, Dreams, Fairness, Water, Daughters- The Quest Of The Queen (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
- Missing (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
- The Rhyme Of The Four Strong Men (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
- Resurrection (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
- The King's Grief (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
- The Three Ships (Cicely Fox Smith Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Fairness Poems, Dreams Poems, Cry Poems, Home Poems, Water Poems, Daughters PoemsBased on Keywords: curlews, forelands, lough, cornlands, conall, bog-pools