LULL
There’s a lovely little lull in the evening Everything goes quiet,
and you can hear birds singing, Above the deep roar of the river.
Harsh raw sound of a seagull Cuts clear through sweet evening air
Night time is just around the corner
The commerce of the day has ended Business shuts the door
Straggler on the pavement hurries home Busker counts coin
Night time is just around the corner
It’s the top of the tide, high pregnant moment Still and Calm in the mouth of the river.
On a low stone wall in the Claddagh Oul fishermen sings their song of the sea
When the wind dies down this time of an evening And swings around to the south
We’ll have settled weather for a while, thanks be to God.
They don’t take one blind bit of notice Of swans patrolling the slipway
Or a young man walking slow Walking in the twilight He’s walking in the twilight.
He walks on anyhow, he crosses the bridge and heads down towards the Spanish Arch, he’s in no hurry
The tide is going out now, he’s close to the edge, the darkness grows deeper
He sits on the steps leading down to the water, takes off his backpack and his glasses
His phone is already off.
And as he steps down into the water, ripples radiate out and disturb the calm surface
He goes under, gets swept away, lost in the depths of the turbulence.
Seabirds sing sad songs for the boys in the bay.