Michael Longley: Northern Ireland's poet of nature

Contemporary Review, April, 2002 by Liam Heaney

In this collection, Longley continues to reflect upon his own creativity as a poet, as is evidenced in poems, such as, 'Fragment', 'The Beech Tree' and 'The Waterfall'. 'Fragment', is a short poem of four lines which succinctly describes the poet's own thoughts about his work. He declares, 'Forty years I've been at it, working hard,/A poetic pro, no longer for neophyte./I'm standing near the metalworkers' yard/And can't find the words for this starry night' (p. 60). In this poem, Longley acknowledges that in spite of his long experience as a professional poet, he finds it difficult to describe, to put into words, the starry night sky that he observes.

The metalworkers' yard nearby, which forges and shapes metal to various forms, is unable to fire his poetic imagination, on this occasion. Yet by summoning his thoughts, by reflecting on his inability to generate ideas, the poet succeeds in creating a poem. It may be a fragment of his imagination, as he suggests, but it is nonetheless inspired by his observations. A similar theme is explored in the poem, 'The Beech Tree', in which the poet reflects upon his younger self. He describes in detail the two hundred year old beech tree, with its transparent downy leaves, but in so doing, it is implied that, although the natural world continues to stimulate and to infuse his thinking, the task of sustaining his poetic creativity is becoming more difficult.

In the poem, 'The Waterfall', the poet suggests to his beloved that if she were to read all of his poems, 'My life's work, at one sitting' then it should be at 'this half-hearted waterfall' (p. 65). According to the poet each pebbly basin is allowed its separate say. At one level of interpretation, 'each pebbly basin' represents a moment in time, a special event or a unique memory, which the poet has captured in his poetry. He uses these memories and events to craft his poem, just as the chestnut trees were used for 'crossbeams', 'moon-shaped nuts', flour and 'crackly stuffing for mattresses'. Moreover, the syllables, the words and phrases the poet uses, will continue to live on and to survive like the stars in the sky. He says, 'Leave them here, on the page, in your mind's eye, lit/Like the fireflies at the waterfall, a wall of stars'. The natural world clearly remains a focus for Longley in helping him to unfold and to explore his creativity as a poet.

In conclusion, Michael Longley has an acute, perceptive focus on nature. It is a vision that engages and fires his imagination. It arouses and stimulates his creativity. It is the source from which he gleans a greater understanding of himself as a poet. Longley himself maintains that 'I articulate through the nightingale's throat,/Sing with the vocal chords of the orang-outang' ('Self-Portrait'). In other words, the world of nature, as exemplified by a snowflake, a lapwing, a badger, an osprey or a waterfall, has a significant and powerful influence on his thinking and on his perceptions of reality. In effect, Longley employs the many wonders of the natural world to elaborate and magnify his conceptions of the other. He casts a perceptive ecological eye on his surroundings, demonstrating that nature itself is the well or spring of his artistic creativity. In essence, Michael Longley's poetry exhibits a depth and a clarity that is memorable, evocative and captivating.