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St Kevin and the Blackbird

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William Crawley | 10:24 UK time, Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Flicking (or clicking) through The Poetry Archive,
I happen upon St Kevin and his
Blackbird
. Which reminds me. In 1996,

Cycling round Ireland, I found myself in
Glendalough with a newly-minted copy
Of The Spirit Level in my backpack.

I took out the book and, standing in sight of
St Kevin's Chapel, read Heaney's poem
Aloud. Just as my mouth formed the word

"Blackbird", in the second stanza, a bird
Landed at my feet and stayed there, perfectly still,
Until I'd finished reading.

Memory can be a deceptive thing,
But I remember it as a blackbird.

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