for my mother, Mary Phil Óg Rodgers-Molloy, a remarkable Inishkeeragh woman
An tOileán
(The island)
Like a mother
who has seen her last child
linger in the leaving,
lean into the wind,
turn to another shore,
the island draws breath
in hope, anticipation,
knowing that in the letting go
her children will always
return home.
© Sarah Lough