SANKTHANS
At sundown we light the bonfire
that great pile of brash & leaves
as much of the old year as will burn
it’s been a dry spring so it goes up
quickly at first the flames alive
& wild as trapped birds
later I must help it along prodding
& replacing the ends of fall outs
to be sure that everything burns
the neighbours come down to watch
smoke blow across the paddock &
through thin trees beyond the beck
they stand at a distance
eyes reflecting an ancient revelry
so that’s that for another year
or remark that now
the nights will only get longer
then return to their houses
while I rake the ash & embers
sending effervescent sparks into the air
it’s no good to be outweighed by
what’s already lost space must be
cleared for more death in hope
that death might later make
some concession for life
tonight it will not get fully dark
only blue a sudden emptiness
where the fire was heaped
& around the shapes of sedges
garden furniture the house itself
all that we were not yet ready to burn
rising between the bare earth & dusk
