VERITY
the madrigal, volume iv
Gasp
by martin mccarthy
I did not expect to find you here,
among these little shells and things
that move from shore to shore
in a vast eternity of sea-foam;
but here you are, light years
from when I met you,
seeing the sea with eyes
that are still open to astonishment.
I did not expect to see you,
with your face lit up in eager joy,
or feel the fading day being charged again
by a sudden voltage of your touch;
but here you are, as the night undresses
in an alcove of dreams and moonbeams,
uttering the long tidal gasp
of a longing that has always existed.
Martin Mc Carthy lives in Cork, Ireland, where he studied English at UCC. He has published two collections: Lockdown Diary (2020) and Lockdown (2021). His most recent poems appear in the pandemic anthology, Poems from My 5k, and in the journals: Drawn to the Light, Seventh Quarry Poetry, Poetry Salzburg, The Road Not Taken, The Lyric, The Orchards, West Ward Quarterly, Lighten Up Online and Better Than Starbucks He was shortlisted for the Red Line Poetry Prize, and is a nominee for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. He is at present working on a play.