I’ve heard how the silks speak of me –
debutante turned dilettante, unfit
to sit in their midst. But we’re all
drawn to the law like gulls
to the lighthouse at Wicklow Head.
We don wigs and gowns,
research and rehearse our arguments,
adjusting volume, pace and pitch;
primed for the court room stage,
wits keen as the dagger in Macbeth.
Amid the frozen fog of prejudice
I watch for the lantern’s beam
and step lightly through the portico
to stand beneath Gandon’s dome.
Averil Deverell (1893-1979) was one of the first two female barristers in the UK and Ireland. She was called to the Irish bar on November 1st, 1921. Jane Clarke’s most recent collection is When the Tree Falls (Bloodaxe)
debutante turned dilettante, unfit
to sit in their midst. But we’re all
drawn to the law like gulls
to the lighthouse at Wicklow Head.
We don wigs and gowns,
research and rehearse our arguments,
adjusting volume, pace and pitch;
primed for the court room stage,
wits keen as the dagger in Macbeth.
Amid the frozen fog of prejudice
I watch for the lantern’s beam
and step lightly through the portico
to stand beneath Gandon’s dome.
Averil Deverell (1893-1979) was one of the first two female barristers in the UK and Ireland. She was called to the Irish bar on November 1st, 1921. Jane Clarke’s most recent collection is When the Tree Falls (Bloodaxe)
