Tuesday 24 September 2013


SEVENTEEN

I can feel in your presence the significance of the moment:
You are seventeen and engaged.
You read a childcare book,
Thinking of your man.

His ring, a recent addition to your pale finger,
Stirs admiration from you merry girl friends.
Its gold band and white glint promise a hard future,
Cold as the unknown, an unfolding of life.

Your young body is pale, pure, and soft as dawn light,
But warm.
Your eyes have in them the flecks of love.
Hope smoulders quietly within your breast.

An edge has been reached.
And your mother? Oh she doesn't mind,
For now you are the future, the warmth.

You are ready to carry the burdens of life,
Accept the brutality of truth, as any mother does.

Go in peace...



Colin Morgan