for Auntie Mary
All those years
crossing the border
at the same point
for the same reason –
to teach – leaving here
for there or there
for here, leaving someone
you are back there
for someone you are
here and later leaving
whoever you are here
for who you are over
there; the difference
slight, the argument
subtle as to when exactly
you are fully here
and no longer there.
Hugh O’Donnell’s latest publication is 'Time to Call Home (Veritas 2021), reflections on our growing separation from the natural world.
