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Dan at CarrodeneWind wails and whips at collar pulled up
and scarf knotted a little more tightly
Dan reflects on this pausing in his search
for the long-unsought grave here in Carrodene
Sky-probing spire spikes heavenward
as leaden clouds close down remnants of late afternoon
Rag-fringed fir trees fluster with wingbeat
of rooks homing in to night-claimed roosts
Dan stands awhile looking with eyes
that see for the first time yet reflect long ago
A son above ground a father below
try to resuscitate three decades of silence
He fingers his scarf a small token teased
spun and knitted from golden fleece
Given as gift at their final parting
those long years ago of mutual distrust
Skein of wool uttering an eloquence of words
father and son never managed to say
[Dan MacNeice finally visited his father's grave after thirty years of estrangement,
wearing the scarf Louis had given him on parting.]
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