by Don Paterson

by Don Paterson
     When the day comes， as the day surely must，
     when it is asked of you， and you refuse
     to take that lover's wound again， that cup
     of emptiness that is our one completion，
     I'd say go here， maybe， to our unsung
     innermost isle： Kilda's antithesis，
     yet still with its own tiny stubborn anthem，
     its yellow milkwort and its stunted kye.
     Leaving the motherland by a two-car raft，
     the littlest of the fleet， you cross the minch
     to find yourself， if anything， now deeper
     in her arms than ever - sharing her breath，
     watching the red vans sliding silently
     between her hills. In such intimate exile，
     who'd believe the burn behind the house
     the straitened ocean written on the map？
     Here， beside the fordable Atlantic，
     reborn into a secret candidacy，
     the fontanelles reopen one by one
     in the palms， then the breastbone and the brow，
     aching at the shearwater's wail， the rowan
     that falls beyond all seasons. One morning
     you hover on the threshold， knowing for certain
     the first touch of the light will finish you.