And I Awake

The burn would run all night and morning

Gurgling seductively outside my bedroom window

Golden brown and bubbling over the peat-moss moor

Sounds of scratching fowls and swishing cows

Cud-chewing to the milking parlour

A sow screamed at the runt of the litter

And I, with one eye opened, feel the gentle Derry air

Lift the lace curtain and blow in a ‘good morning’

With its sickly smell of sweet manure

And freshly squeezed milk from bloated udders

A clang of creamery cans

A ‘get-out-of-here’ cry to cats

That craved fresh cream

And I awake on my uncle’s farm

Oh sweet, sweet memory