"The little islands of Pan held in the crooked elbow of the lake"

"The little islands of Pan held in the crooked elbow of the lake"

Poetry--Twentieth Century--Patrick Kavanagh--Lough Derg

The poetry of Patrick Kavanagh's 'Lough Derg', detailing a visit in 1941

Patrick Kavanagh, 1904-1967

Kavanagh, Patrick, Lough Derg, p. 19

Goldsmith Press, The Curragh, Ireland

1978

Citation for the purposes of criticism

Published poem

English

Poetry chapbook

DD_0252

54.608913,-7.870977

“They knelt and prayed and rose and prayed
And circled the crosses and kissed the stones
Never looking away from the brimstone bitterness
To the little islands of Pan held in the crooked elbow of the lake,
They closed their eyes to Donegal and the white houses
On the slope of the northern hills
And these pilgrims of a western reason
Were not pursuing French-hot miracles
There were hundreds of them tripping one another
Upon the pilgrim way (Oh God of Truth
Keep him who tells this story straight,
Let no cheap insincerity shape his mouth).
These men and boys were not led there
By priests of Maynooth or stories of Italy or Spain
For this is the penance of the poor
Who knows what beauty hides in misery
As beggars, fools and fakirs know.”

Poems