Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

Nora Fleming of the Wicklow Writers Group, who sent us this week's inspiring poem, has been widowed now for ten years, and is retired from the family business in the little village of Redcross in Co. Wicklow.

Nora is a Grandmother, and loves reading and writing. She is an active member of Wicklow Active Retirement Group and she joined the Wicklow Writers Group in Sept, '09.

From a very young age she loved writing little rhymes and reciting poetry. Over the years she has written pieces of prose and poetry for her own family and Grandchildren for special occasions like Births, Weddings, Communion, Confirmation holidays and emigration.

THE GIFT

In the silence of her little room,
She sits by the big log fire.
The Grandfather clock chimes away the hours.
Above her a spider weaves tirelessly
in the light of a flickering candle.
Her eyes grow weary,
The unfinished garment slips,
Suddenly she remembers,
Tomorrow the Baptism,
Her first Grandchild.
With her single needle
stitch after stitch,
Strand after strand
She works at her masterpiece.
The logs on the fire
burn to black cinders,
At last her work is done.
She neatly folds the soft white robe
And shuffles to bed,
While the spider unsleeping
Works late into the night.

© Nora Fleming