NUALA NÍ DHOMHNAILL

The Language Issue

I place my hope in the water
in this little boat
of the language, the way a body might put
an infant

in a basket of intertwined
iris leaves,
its underside proofed
with bitumen and pitch

then set the whole thing down amidst
the sedge
and bullrushes by the edge
of a river

only to have it borne hither and thither
not knowing where it may end up;
in the lap, perhaps,
of some Pharaoh's daughter.

From Pharaoh's Daughter (The Gallery Press, 1990)

Also available from Amazon.co.uk:

The Astrakhan Cloak (The Gallery Press, 1992)
The Water Horse ((The Gallery Press, 1999)
Selected Essays (New Island Books, 2005)

Wake Forest University Press | Gallery Press | New Island