Monday 14 September 2009

Mark Goodwin - Star Frost, A Corie Làir, A Strath Carron

hill-framed      sky’s      cloud
less bl      ue pinks      at its
rim as day’s      ghost be

comes      becomes      towards
real becomes and      fills
world our fingers scor      ch

on boot la      ces & gaiter zips
we are cr      isp between Chri
stmas & New Year’s Eve our

old      selves suddenly spec
tres of some      others in
nocent of      everything other

than      this this      year-end mist
has      wrapped birch twigs hea
ther & rocks with lit grey splin

ters the burn rum      mages un
der skins      of ice pat      iently sear
ching for      gravity pines      wear

frilly jackets of white sky-breath
and one pine      stop      -framed by
hun      dreds of its still likes walks

with      us star-prongs      have gr
own over every High      land detail
of      here here      recreated as cry

stalline copies of fo      rest &
corie & mountains beyond      this
breath      ing & passing      of our

selves through this per      fectly new
world is a yoga of      ground ground
takes us in      to its star shapes      a

robin stops bobs stops bobs be
fore      us leading us      up a
slippery footpath each      bootfall

crinks against master      piece ice
-broaches tra      gically but for bil
lions up      on billions of tiny

delicate sym      metrical shapes wa
ter’s spoken has frozen to we      go
to      beyond beyond      the tree

-line high &      out in      the open ice
-wires nest in      our noses as we
breathe ourselves towards Corie Làir

& Sgor Rhaudh ri      zing above
the corie’s grey frost      -base to frisp
golden rid      ges of crystal      line

desire where sunlight cracks & cra
shes si      lently speckly      -white ptar
migan are invisible but      they are

there and they see      with frost’s
eyes night’s veins waiting just
below a world’s      rim darkness just

lea      king in and free      sing
into this      bright we are warm      as
our bones burn      like frost I want

to stay

still in this      high light stay
here as a solid vow
el      a crystal man      an

an

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