(After Ronsard, ‘Le Printemps n’a point tant de fleurs’)

Spring has fewer blossoms of blackthorn
Autumn fewer forests aching into gold
Summer fewer skies of high white clouds
Winter fewer days of rain, sleet and cold
The Corrib has fewer silver salmon
And Kerry rolls out fewer hills and lakes
And Gougane Barra fewer steps of pilgrims
And Roaring Water Bay fewer creeks
And Cape Clear fewer stars in the night
And Achill fewer bushes of fuchsia
Than pangs of sadness I carry in my heart
For you, my dearest love, for you.

James Harpur’s recent publications include Darkness Between Stars (with John F Deane, Irish Pages Press) and The Examined Life (Two Rivers Press )