I wish I could walk the track
back to my old island home.
Retreat to childhood haunts -
beech wood forests full of birds and
briars
and the fantasy thrill of bears
living in the root rooms
made from fallen trees.
I'd wander from the village,
along the lane,beside the sea loch,
its greedy mouth
full of black rock teeth,
sucking sea and sea life
through its narrow gorge.
At the gate, the portal to day dreams,
I'd find my wellies in a bush,
and trudge down the track,
into the wood, past a bit that always
smelled
of almonds. I never knew why.
Where the forest had not ventured,
a meadow, scattered with wild flowers,
and butterflies wove colours in the
air,
and around the bend a small bridge
which gave way to the shore,
all mud and seaweed and seagulls
standing ankle deep,
their beady eyes, heartless.
And on the horizon were floating
islands,
their unstable appearance
an optical illusion,
their names always alluring -
The Dutch Man's Cap, Eigg,
Canna, Muck and Rhum.
For a moment I am there.
(bird, unstable, bend, retreat, bridge,
wild, rock, bear, lane, fallen, meadow, island)
