1st place poetry 

Remembering Emer by Anne Frances O'Reilly

When I think of her      I see her         drumming

         on a beach    in Mulranny      head thrown back

    as the light    faded      calling in      the four directions    

 then invoking      earth      water     fire       air      

             her fearless song        a shaman’s call       to our souls    

to remember                to come back               home

      the way she did     when in the presence of    trees

           leaning into them      completely     fiercely

sensual too     park or woodland      it didn’t matter

             once she hugged       a gnarled oak      in the centre

of London       a policeman staring     me aghast

      when she was ill      I pressed my heart     against

a giant Redwood          for her healing          not knowing

       how        even then        she was    becoming     light

MMCF Writing Competition 2020