after grief at Inniscarra bridge
I cross the stone bridge, dash
down the slip to the riverbank: so green I expect
the sky to reflect grass and leaf.
Sunlight sparks on velvet blue water,
weeds bright as summer grass wave in the flow.
A glorious scene. Let the sky fall.
I shake my limbs until it hurts.
Nothing works. Not the sweat from the run.
Not tracing the river upstream through the eyes of the bridge.
Strange dreams stalk my waking hours.
I'd like to race the other way,
pause for bitter coffee in a stop-by place, search
for familiar quirks in the faces of strangers.
A simple wish yet it gnaws at me
like a hook in a fish.
Under the arches of the bridge, water flows deep.
If I leap
feet first into the rush, plummet, and chasing breath,
flounder back up, a gasp,
a laugh,
I’ll break this spell.
I hold back,
gaze the other way. There - off in the distance, like a question
with many answers, ancient waters touch the sky, blur.
I cross the stone bridge, dash
down the slip to the riverbank: so green I expect
the sky to reflect grass and leaf.
Sunlight sparks on velvet blue water,
weeds bright as summer grass wave in the flow.
A glorious scene. Let the sky fall.
I shake my limbs until it hurts.
Nothing works. Not the sweat from the run.
Not tracing the river upstream through the eyes of the bridge.
Strange dreams stalk my waking hours.
I'd like to race the other way,
pause for bitter coffee in a stop-by place, search
for familiar quirks in the faces of strangers.
A simple wish yet it gnaws at me
like a hook in a fish.
Under the arches of the bridge, water flows deep.
If I leap
feet first into the rush, plummet, and chasing breath,
flounder back up, a gasp,
a laugh,
I’ll break this spell.
I hold back,
gaze the other way. There - off in the distance, like a question
with many answers, ancient waters touch the sky, blur.
Alison McCrossan is from Cork. Publications include Southword, Stand, Orbis, The Honest Ulsterman, and Abridged. She was longlisted in The National Poetry Competition 2022, shortlisted in The Bridport Prize 2023, and was a finalist in The Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition (The Munster Literature Centre). She undertook a mentorship with Thomas McCarthy through The Munster Literature Centre.