Seamus Heaney

Valediction

Lady with the frilled blouse And simple tartan skirt, Since you have left the house Its emptiness has hurt All thought. In your presence Time rode easy, anchored On a smile; but absence Rocked love's balance, unmoored The days. They buck and bound Across the calendar, Pitched from the quiet sound Of your flower-tender Voice. Need breaks on my strand; You've gone, I am at sea. Until you resume command, Self is in mutiny. (from the collection Death of a Naturalist first published by Faber and Faber in 1969 isbn: 9780571230839) ~ ~ ~