we slipped past
the Bailey Light
where Leopold and Nora lay
in heather thick on seagull whirling slopes
we slipped almost unnoticed past Kish
whose light
for many years
had been my constant guide
looking back along the Liffey course
the lights did slowly fade
and we set course below the Plough
which slipped in and out of view
as winter scuttering clouds
made stars to wink unknowingly
I followed the course
I made a thousand times before
when work was scarce
and every door was locked
against the Paddy
but now we head not east but south
and as the coast of Wicklow cast
a shadow dark and deep
against the Western glow
I told you
we would never know
the purpose of our journey
So off the coast of Wexford
I scuttled her