Come with me
came with him
in the soft
green shell around
the hard shell
engraved around
the fruit of the core
just soft enough
to chew: walnut,
European culture.
The king’s tree,
queen’s misery.

2.
An island is a slippery thing
even when the jags jut out
black granite from the sea.
The sea comes from all sides in
to hold it in place, lave its loss
of larger, feed its shorebirds,
ospreys, fish crows, us.

3.
I was born on one
and can’t forget,
big or small, minnow or sturgeon,
it surged its way to stand still
and still I dream that it
with me will sail away.

4.
My uncle had a tugboat
my uncle had a war
my uncle was a Mason
my uncle said his prayers in Hebrew
my uncle was a Welshman
and let me read his books,
my uncle was a garbage man
my uncle was police.
My island was a busy place
but let me go.

5.
The best thing to do with the sea
is look at it, pray to it, talk to it, listen.
Try not to cross it–
look what happened to us when we did.
Try not to do much more
than swim in it reverently
respectful of seals.

6.
Come with me he said
I will show you where the walnut grows,
I did and he did, a big old tree
beside the summerhouse
squirrels kept sneaking
the green nuts in, soft green outside
like many a friend, so many
layers to get through
to what is on the inside
as we used to say
as if the core of anyone
is a planet with its own geology
and all you get to know
is islands, islands.

4 May 2021