A poetry reading by a waterfall
You can still feel the community pack
This place: it’s like going into a turfstack,
A core of old dark walled up with stone
A yard thick. When you’re in it alone,
You might have dropped, a reduced creature,
To the heart of the globe. No worshipper
Would leap up to his God off this floor.
Founded there like heroes in a barrow,
They sought themselves in the eye of their King
Under the black weight of their own breathing.
And how he smiled on them as out they came,
The sea a censer and the grass a flame.
This poem is truly special, and although I did not get the opportunity to experience the oratory itself, I think the thymes in the poem can apply to the beautiful experience of being at the waterfall.
Heaney seems to use nature as a theme, the grass and sea acting as an alter for what seems to be a sacred experience. I myself felt that being near the waterfall was a scared experience. The idea of feeling like a reduced creature also resonated with my experience. I was in awe of such a sight that it almost makes you feel smaller- but not in a bad way? The nature just overwhelms you and takes over.
The idea of a community pack was certainly present- many were crowding to get the best picture possible of the waterfall. I would really like to somehow be able to experience this alone and have the quietness of my surroundings paired with the roar of the waterfall. Although traveling in a group is so spectacular, it would be awesome to experience some sights alone and be able to create poems about them, seemingly like Heaney does!
Shoutout to my awesome teacher Dr. Reed pictured above always cheering me on!
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