Indoors
by Vona Groarke.
It breaks apart as water will not do
when I pull , hard, away from me,
the corners bunched in my two hands
to steer a true and regulated course.
I plunge the needle through and through,
dipping, tacking, coming up again.
The ripple of thread that follows pins,
out of its depth , a shallow hem.
I smooth the waves and calm the folds.
Then, to ensure an even flow,
I cast a line which runs from hook to hook
and pulls the net in overlapping pleats.
Which brings me to the point where I am
hanging a lake, by one shore, in my room,
to swell and billow between the light
and opaque , unruffled dark.
I step in. The room closes round me
and scarcely puckers when I move my limbs.
I step out. The path is darkened where I walk,
my shadow steaming off in all this sun.
from : The New Irish Poets , Edited by Selina Guinness . Bloodaxe Books 2004
Chris Murray 