ST. THOMAS'S ISLAND
By
Arthur Lysaght
(A reverie of monks and fishermen and a former time at Corbally.)
White-robed monks are walking
and praying on the isle
of lush grass where the shallow
river runs fast downstream
weaving ornate shapes from stones
and swirl into deeps
where salmon rest.
The sun is west
and cackling moorhens cut reed
shimmered shadows at the muddy shore.
Bird flocks to roosting scrawl the greying
sky and drop into the quiet shades of trees.
Faint comes the slap of water against wood
as
black bows hover over darkened pools
and peak-capped men ply cobwebs out of boats.
An arc of silver breaks the water surface;
a monk is silhouetted on the weir.