Bulpaddock Sonnet:

(Trinity College 2005)

I stand in the classroom and through
the large glass windows look out
across the Bulpaddock - the bronze statue
of the famous bull guards
the ‘Keep off the grass’ sign and the ivy-stone
buildings frame students as they walk to classes.

My eye catches a leaf as it falls while the wind
sends another scurrying along the old worn footpath,
the sunlight slants through the bare trees,
the scene unearths memories of Dad
from years before when he breathed
and I stood holding his hand
amongst the raked leaves and cut garden -
everything smelling as if it would last forever.