Mike,

You have hit the nail on the head. It is very much a fantasy, a future that
is not expected to happen. That was the purpose of summer, to emphasise the
emphermeral against the fantasised eternal. Ditto for the abnormal weather.

And you have given me an idea about the title. "A romantic", could be "The
romantic" or "The dream" or "Summer dream" or "Summer Romantic".

Thanks,

Colin





----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Horwood" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 9:27 AM
Subject: Re: newsub/isle


Hello Colin,
            I like this one a lot. I like the rhythm of the lines - lilting
and dreamy - and the sound of words and combinations of words e.g. `sound of
the surf´, `crests of cliffs´, `flanks of fields´. It´s all very idyllic and
romantic.....quite unlike real life. And here´s the rub, the `changeless
blue´ in the final line is a fantasy. The sky over Eigg may be grey,
`summer´s  light´ doesn´t last for ever. Of course, the way round this is to
use these phrases ironically. So here´s a suggestion. Why not title the poem
`A Romantic´? That would then mean that your poem is `spoken´ by a narrator
with this romantic perception of the scene/life and you, the poet, and we,
the readers, would be sitting back and taking an objective view.



Best wishes,   Mike




--- Alkuperäinen viesti ---
Give me the Isle

Give me the isle
of the celandined turf
and the silvered shore
where the cattle come
to dip their feet
in the pure cool surf
and the gulls alight
on the ebbing sand,
where the sound of the surf
can be heard for miles
on the crests of cliffs,
from the flanks of fields
and I would live there
if I had my way
and write my songs
in the lea of the cliffs
with the wind blowing over,
and the clouds overhead.
Till singing was done
I would live there
in summer's light
where the daisy and celandine
litter the grass
and the house-martin flits
and turns as it wings
in the changeless blue.


Eigg.  June,1995.


 Any better title?