Poem of the month

chosen by David Underdown

The Rabbits of Skomer

by Maggie O’Dwyer

I could lie in your voice,
float in it, drift out to sea,
hang off your soft vowel
sounds, make a hammock
in between the way you
pronounce rabbit, ra-bet.
I could stretch myself out
in the bluebelled grass
of your island, watch puffins
strut around on their sturdy
feet, rabbits frolic without fear
of fox or dog and lets be honest
even if you’re small, fat and bald,
you can have me, just say it again,
ra-bet, my li-tel ra-bet.

Maggie O’Dwyer offers a playful take on the Welsh lilt of the natives of Skomer (an island nature reserve off the coast of Pembrokeshire) in this poem taken from Solitaire, an anthology published by Templar Poetry. Maggie O’Dwyer comes from Dublin and her first collection, Laughter Heard From The Road, is also published by Templar.