I DREAMED OF PADRIAC COLUM

 

I DREAMED OF PADRIAC COLUM

to Padraic Colum, spinner of tales, in birdsong

I dreamed of Padraic Colum

that he was moving slowly as if in another dream no

subset of mine small sea awash in a golden thimble

through flocks of swans, and egrets, lapwings;striding

quicksilvered as moonlight imagined itself to see

and the birds

really did understand what he was saying

and even more amazing what he meant by

what he was saying not as in the world

but as in the other world

it is sometimes said to be possible

that you are flying but you have no wings

and in the dream I said

to him or thought the dream thought carefully

both hands on the piano keys

sir, can you take some poems of mine to Mr. Yeats

but he uncomprehending turned his profile toward the sky

as if he were awakening there

and turned into a bird himself

floating past the fleeting newborn stars.

mary angela douglas 8 august 2023