Wraiths

III.  White Nights
 
Furrow-plodders in spats and bright-clasped brogues
Are cradling bags and hoisting beribboned drones
As their skilled neck-pullers’ fingers force the chanters

 
And the whole band starts rehearsing
Its stupendous, swaggering march
Inside the hall. Meanwhile
 

One twilight field and summer hedge away
We wait for the learner who will stay behind
Piping by stops and starts,
 

Making an injured music for us alone,
Early-to-beds , white-night absentees
Open-eared to this day. 

from, Human Chain , by Seamus Heaney , published by Faber and Faber 2010.

Note : I am attaching to this short post a link entitled : Feis Teamhar , a Turn at Tara because I was there to hear the poets and musicians on that day. I believe that the Newspapers under-reported the day and did not attend to Mr Heaney’s words. He was there to celebrate Tara as a cultural centre and to support the Campaign to Save Tara . He was also there to support his nephew who was and is a Tara Campaigner .

Since that time , there have been other feiseanna at Tara, this was the inaugural one organised by ” Paul Muldoon, Pulitzer prize-winner, will read his poetry to celebrate and honour Tara and will be joined by musicians: Grammy award-winner Susan McKeown, Laoise Kelly, Aidan Brennan and others “.

Save Tara Campaign release on Feis Teamhair