Seamus Heaney(b. 1939)
From Squarings
Lightenings
VIII
The annals say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise 6
Were all at prayers inside the oratory
A ship appeared above t h e m in the air.
T h e a n c h o r dragged along b e h i n d s o d e e p
It h o o k e d itself into the altar rails
A n d then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill,
A c r e w m a n s h i n n e d and grappled d o w n the rope
And struggled to release it. But in vain.
"This m a n can't bear our life here and will drown,
The abbot said, "unless we help him. So
T h e y did, the freed ship sailed, and the m a n c l i m b e d back
O u t of the marvellous as he had k n o w n it.