MAT
Some of them could go fast as the wind -
Nell now - and she was a great hand at it,
Scrolls and squares and dogs and roses
And one time a red punt on the water.
And then the scrubbing -
Dragging mats down to the cove in summer.
We beat them against the beach rocks,
And the salt water gave back their colour.
And come Christmas
Out we went mummering,
Out in the fools, happy as kings.
Mat rags sewed into our clothes.
Merrybegot, a collection of poems by Mary Dalton was originally published in 2003 by Véhicule Press. It is available as an unabridged audio recording from Rattling Books performed by Anita Best and Patrick Boyle.
