Haegri
for Stuart
The day you mapped your bonhogas
out for me, we saw it
curled like a question mark
at the lip of the hill –
and we’d thought it was a trick
of slud-light and lisks
before its unfolding into air,
as though hearing a call
above the swollen burn
you’d named The Waterfall,
beyond The Flumes, The Secret Beach,
the white stacked stones
of old stories we wish to find
some truth in. Haegri,
hillside-sentinel, what took you
from those blackened pools
you’ve spent lifespans watching over,
as though you were looking
for the image of some other
world within your own –
Haegri, what voice summoned you
from your post, abandoning
these places we have not yet
quite returned from
Haegri: heron; also used as a nickname for a tall, thin type of person
Bonhoga: a spiritual or childhood place
Slud: an interval between showers
Lisks: wisps