Tags
beach memory, Castledawson, Clearances, County Derry, folding sheets, happy mother's day, ironing, Mother's Day, Seamus Heaney, The Haw Lantern, Themes of childhood
This Mother’s Day in America finds me thinking about my mother back in Castledawson, County Derry, a great armful of sheets rescued from the clothes-line before the rain begins to fall. Then, the folding, a precise ritual, my father her partner in a dance handed down from one generation to the next. My daughter learned those same moves not by the ironing board in my mother’s kitchen, but before the fog rolled in on the end of a windy afternoon on the sandy edges of California. Folding our beach blanket, edge to edge, while unbeknownst to us, my husband took photographs and wrote our names in the sand . . .
From Clearances V by Seamus Heaney
In Memoriam M.K.H., 1911-1984I
“The cool that came off the sheets just off the line
Made me think the damp must still be in them
But when I took my corners of the linen
And pulled against her, first straight down the hem
And then diagonally, then flapped and shook
The fabric like a sail in a cross-wind,
They made a dried-out undulating thwack.
So we’d stretch and fold and end up hand to hand
For a split second as if nothing had happened
For nothing had that had not always happened
Beforehand, day by day, just touch and go,
Coming close again by holding back
In moves where I was x and she was o
Inscribed in sheets she’d sewn from ripped-out flour sacks.”
Listen here as Seamus Heaney reads the poem.
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Elizabeth Aquino said:
This was the most perfect Mother’s Day post ever. I had never read this poem, and it was sublime to hear him read it, too! Thank you, and happy mother’s day to you!
Editor said:
Thank you, Elizabeth! It is one of my favorites and I thought it was perfect for today (any day, really).
Always great to hear him read!
T. Clear said:
I read this ages ago, and was sent here to read it again by Elizabeth Aquino.
Thank you for posting this!!
Editor said:
Well, I’m so glad you stopped by! Thank you.
It’s such a gem, isn’t it?
betty watterson said:
Yvonne I enjoyed this poem so much your daddy listened too, the pictures were beautifull our two lovely girls.. love always ma and daddy xxxx
Editor said:
Ah, isn’t it lovely to listen to himself reading it. I’m just impressed Ken actually took photographs!! Wonders never cease 🙂
xo
betty watterson said:
Thank you for sharing, hope you had a very happy mothers day, Yvonne you are the best, love you always mam..xxxx
Editor said:
I did, ma, it was grand. It occurred to me when Ken brought me my coffee in bed, that, really, every day is mother’s day.
xo