To kill completely
I travelled a day and a night,
Under a sun that cast no shadow.
My shroud was solitude,
Iron split the skin on my fingers,
And a candle spun my soul
Into a mercy of red.
I burnt my eyes black,
And in the darkness,
A whore was crowned queen
And a bastard, heir.
I knew the water had been
poisoned when my tongue
bled bitter, and the blood flowed
slow, enough that I clasped
palms and whispered a prayer.
The tree was taken
From the roots, to kill
completely, is to forgive none.
I came across a Connemara man,
Bowed back, and plaid bow.
He told me where the trout
Grew red, where the river met a shallow,
The universe borrowed me a
Line to cast. The fog was heavy,
And the mist clouded my view,
But I was given a line, and a cast,
And a river. And so I hunted.
