Patrick Kavanagh (1904–1967)
Canal Bank Walk
Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal
Pouring redemption for me, that I do
The will of God, wallow in the habitual, the banal,
Grow with nature again as before I grew.
The bright stick trapped, the breeze adding a third
Party to the couple kissing on an old seat,
And a bird gathering materials for the nest for the Word
Eloquently new and abandoned to its delirious beat.
O unworn world enrapture me, encapture me in a web
Of fabulous grass and eternal voices by a beech,
Feed the gaping need of my senses, give me ad lib
To pray unselfconsciously with overflowing speech
For this soul needs to be honoured with a new dress woven
From green and blue things and arguments that cannot be proven.
Patrick Kavanagh (1904–1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. When the Irish Times compiled a list of favorite Irish poems in 2000, ten of Kavanagh's poems were in the top 50, and he was rated the second favorite poet behind W.B. Yeats. The actor Russell Crowe said, “I like the clarity and the emotiveness of Kavanagh. I like how he combines the kind of mystic into really clear, evocative work that can make you glad you are alive.”
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
