Three Poems

A RACING WALKER

If you define what's not un-natural
and persevere in that most strictly,
you'll soon cross the frontier
into that single-minded kingdom
where strides a racing walker
who is consumed by the commitment not to . . . not to . . .
not to do what would be merely natural
and makes both mockery of what he doesn't
and veneration of his refusal of the easy answer-
who is the self-mortifying saint of travellers,
ascetic of movement, clown of urgency,
even a sort of hero of the ungainly-
and commands our amazement
be the ferocity of his intransigence.

LOVE IS ALSO
                      from the Gaelic of Sine Reisideach
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