Lorraine Whelan is a Canadian writer and visual artist based in Ireland. Her prose, poetry, and art criticism has appeared in Ireland, Canada, USA, Luxembourg and online. Her artwork is included in public, private and corporate collections in Ireland, USA, Canada, UK, Belgium, and Australia.
Please visit Lorraine Whelan at: http://lorrainewhelan.blogspot.ie/
A shower of rain,
a translucent grey curtain,
hangs in the distance.
Catherine’s Ashes
Mother to mother
she passed the small baggy
of ashes to me,
the unsaid grief understood:
her loss of a daughter,
my loss of a mother.
Before saying goodbye
my friend asked
a favour so easy to grant:
continue the earthly travels
of Catherine, who loved to travel.
Most recently some ashes have been
at the summit of a Scottish ben,
and with the ancients at Newgrange,
but they have not yet been
sprinkled in the Irish Sea
to mark the visit to my home.
I will take some ashes also
to my favourite woods at Knocksink:
find a shady spot
on the Glencullen river bank,
near to a Pooh-sticks bridge.
And I will save some ashes
for the Mediterranean:
my favourite sun place at Antibes.
I will carry the powdered soul
of my friend’s dear child
into the sea for a swim
below le Nomade monument.
A light kiss to the bagged relic
seals the tender bargain
with my thoughts for Catherine.
I embrace my friend farewell.
The Cove
Mediterranean waves
creamy rough rocks
deeply crevassed and sun-drenched
a cool breeze
a lapping and splash
the distant voices of snorkellers
muffled by their masks
a plane scrapes the air
overly loud as it lowers
to land at Nice
huddled below
the Maritime Alps
spectacular blue sky
Cȏte d’Azur
bright yellow buoys
mark safety for swimmers
yachts keep away
people scrabble over rocks
to claim their space
or share a spot
multilingual chatter:
French, German, Spanish, English
shared joy in water and warmth
coolness in the heat
international relaxation
moments of individual peace
Published in Inspiritry, 2019
Poetry in this post: © Lorraine Whelan
Published with the permission of Lorraine Whelan