GEORGE  MACKAY  BROWN

 

Song:  Further than Hoy


 

Further than Hoy
the mermaids whisper
through ivory shells
a-babble with vowels

Further than history
the legends thicken
the buried broken
vases and columns

Further than fame
are fleas and visions,
the hermit's cave
under the mountain

Further than song
the hushed awakening
of country children
the harp unstroked

Further than death
your feet will come
to the forest, black forest
where Love walks, alone.


GMB © 1954

from
The Storm
published 1954
Orkney Press

and from 
Selected Poems 1954-1992
new enlarged edition 1996
John Murray (Publishers) Ltd

50 Albemarle Street
London W1X 4BD



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