–
Along the river bed,
long running with water
already washed through our hands,
–
long is not the hold we have to harbour,
–
long running with this water
no longer light at its level,
no longer smooth along its sands,
–
along this bend of river
I cast into the current, like a kiss
no longer catchable,
this weight no longer workable,
now on route to dissolvable.
–
From breath to bubble,
bobbing
bubbles,
from breath to bubble and then trouble,
then off they blow,
splashing as they sparkle
and splutter on to spent.
I cast you into this current,
where shamrock slips to sapphire,
to let the past depart,
not sad of heart, not hard,
just a shadow of blue
in a bend of the bank
at the edge of expire.
–
To slip from soul like a skin
now shredded from recognition,
a cast off of character no longer cast
in this current condition.
We knit until we are knotted,
we weave patterns;
loops locked under chains,
some stitches saved and others slipped,
connected to a comfort
until they struggle under strains,
–
a fragile filigree
we cannot always wear,
hands can only hold
what wants to be held,
we are not fortunate
for the future to foresee,
we can not always follow,
sometimes even sheep
must make their own route
before they are wound as wool
or substance to swallow,
–
even the river bed must turn, in time,
twist at others, we are no straight line
but a collection of corrections
cast on and cast off,
kick off
pay off
drop off.
–
We are more than characters
or thinly drawn caricatures,
I am more than this flesh you see,
you see; I can fester or I can be free.
–
I shed this skin of a former self,
here by the edge of this river running,
running onwards, searching for its shore,
searching for something more,
for its share of the truth,
I shed this skin to let the other
parts of me find their sea.
–
I cast into the river bed
this weight so the rest
can float and form and be.
All words and photographs by Damien B Donnelly
Audio version available on SoundCloud:
Damien B. Donnelly 
