Aubade
Let the room be still tonight,
dim the street and bedside light,
chase the hallway shadows out
so nothing can come near.
Compose the darkness here,
let it frame the furniture,
make it like a dye
that bathes the ceiling and the floor.
And let clocks be still tonight,
fasten the windows tight
against all stray,
intruding memories,
There have been ghosts enough,
betrayals, fear and guilt
so let them now retreat
and this bedevilled quilt
enfold a sleep
untroubled by a single breath.
Let all the years that weigh
upon this hour be still
and not an echo
breach the confines of the street.
Then let dawn be slow
so nothing brings alarm,
let nothing stir a crease
across the pillow’s calm.
Neil Young hails from Belfast and now lives in Stonehaven, north-east Scotland, where he is co-founder of The Poets’ Republic magazine. Neil’s first collection, Lagan Voices, a Belfast memoir, was published by Scryfa in 2009. A booklet of sonnets, The Parting Glass, is out now from Tapsalteerie.