Old Picardy, dense in bottle-green trees
Verging on grassland and breathing forest;
Father walked out of the road into field of vision
White head above the grassy bank,
Saying to himself the words 'tillage' and 'acreage,'
Water shone with a gilt gleam.

We were May-flies, short on bright fuses
Tall in tales. The shutters opened airy
On blue Gallic noon, the attic windows
Within which I slept were not to be opened
To protect the hirondelles. Forever Picardy,
Before longing, worm in the apple, the swallows flown.

Patrick Kehoe’s collections are “Its Words You Want” ( Salmon Poetry ) and “The Cask of Moonlight” ( Dedalus Press ). He collaborated with singer/songwriter Sonny Condell for their album “Seize the Day”