Two Poems by Noel Canin

Walking

Life the dart of a rabbit,
the snap of beaks in ferns,
encapsulated in the chimes of bees.

Bright fields lap at dour waters
snatched up by birds, their toned calls
ripe messages along the banks,
while the wind,
great carrier of life,
surrenders to the belly of evening.



Waiting for the Ferry to Iona

A sprawl of pink mammalian rock
buries its snout in the sea,
dulls the cry of seals
and the bright gulls'
incessant pecking at dark waves.

The wind tugs and bellows
at buttoned belted warmth.
An old glove is frozen to a rock.

Round pink and green stones;
emerald grass;
dark, the sea rises
from petrol to turquoise
and the sky lies down on its side.