What a truly terrific collection of poems this is, and it would undoubtedly form one of the best contemporary anthologies ever compiled if some interested publisher were to publish it exactly as it is now! I was surprised and thrilled to see two poems of mine - "Little Thrush" and "Gasp" -included here in such exalted company. I will restack "Gasp". but I would urge all readers to read all of the great poems included here. It is quite a treasure chest!
What a truly terrific collection of poems this is, and it would undoubtedly form one of the best contemporary anthologies ever compiled if some interested publisher were to publish it exactly as it is now! I was surprised and thrilled to see two poems of mine - "Little Thrush" and "Gasp" -included here in such exalted company. I will restack "Gasp". but I would urge all readers to read all of the great poems included here. It is quite a treasure chest!
Gasp
by Martin Mc Carthy
I did not expect to find you here,
among these little shells and things
skittering from shore to shore
in a vast eternity of sea-foam;
but here you are, light years
from when I met you,
seeing the sea with eyes
still open to astonishment.
I did not expect to see you,
with your face lit up in eager joy,
nor to feel the fading day being charged again
by the sudden voltage of your touch;
but here you are, as the night undresses
in an alcove of dreams and moonbeams,
uttering the long tidal gasp
of a longing echoed from every shore.
Originally published by The Madrigal Press
I think it is a great collection, and better than most of the "name" journals could produce.
"Gasp" and "Little Thrush" are two personal favorites of mine.
That's great to hear. Thank you.
An impressive list. It bears rereading.