Inishbofin Spring
Jeffrey C. Alfier

Inishbofin Spring

In winds reeling up
from monastic remains,
gull cries rebound off sea cliff
caves and soapstone, echo
the groans of fishermen
troubled by tide and storm.
Voices of islanders
infuse the wind, saxifrage
and daisy in a surge
of blossom after rain
and breaking light that scatters
over graves at St. Colman.
Deep sea anglers, outbound,
are anxious for darker water,
their laughter daring the sea
to bring them home.

Jeffrey C. Alfier

is the winner of the 2014 Kithara Book Prize for his poetry collection Idyll for a Vanishing River (Glass Lyre Press, 2013). He is also the author of The Wolf Yearling (Silver Birch Press) and The Storm Petrel: Poems of Ireland (Grayson Books, forthcoming). His recent work has appeared in Spoon River Poetry Review, Poetry Ireland Review, and Tulane Review.