The rainbow spanning a planet shower,
The sloe in berry, the flax in flower.
The scholar's satchel, the beggar's staff,
The ploughman's whistle, the tinker's laugh.
The stranded hooker, the breaking wave,
The sunrise gilding the carn of Medb.
The strength of mountains, the swiftness of wind
Blowing over the leagues behind.
The hot lips sealing the spoken word,
The song in gentle places heard.
The wildgoose trumpeting in the blue,
The postcar stuck in a drift of snow.
The bogslide moving, the seaward leap,
The cry, the townland whelmed in sleep.
The sock on the anvil, the thread in the loom,
The Host on the altar, the child in the womb.
The wayside murder, the whispered name,
The hanging body, the hidden shame.
And more — if you but listen and look —
In this, my elemental book!