UISCE

Water, liquefied air grounded by gravity 

Far greater Leveller than even Shirley’s Death,
Dew in the morning, fog in the evening,
Translucent halo of angel’s breath.
Binding member of eternal elements,
Ancient conversations with the stone,
Tears of the earth, border of life and death
Life that can live alone.
 
 
At the wedding feast of Cana
The host was mute and hushed,
Then the humble water met the Lords gaze
And the humble water blushed.
Since baptism in Jordan’s river,
Since Ararat of two by two, 
There’s no will but the water’s will
The white swell and the blue.

 

The well connects the darkness and the light,
The seaside ties the water to the land,
The river joins the country and the ocean
And rain provides the life in everyman.
Ice, the surgeon with eternal scalpel
Carved each valley, glacier, river bed,
Elusive mist, cloak of every mountain,
Snow, a scarf for headstones of our dead.
 

 

Water, first mirror of the universe,
Never strays outside its own desire,
Tide, slave mistress of the moon,
Diviner of thirst; of flame, a sole defier.
The first swim of this life
In amniotic whirlpool of the womb,
The last swim of this life
In all embracing moisture of the tomb.

 

Uisce, (Irish word for water) is the most obviously visible

of all the Classic elements. Treasured more than its brothers
and sisters it is widely regarded as the source of all life.
But it cannot work in isolation!