When Ireland was a cloud in the west
that could flex with the waves it was not
unknown for women to keep the Host
in their mouths in order to win a kiss:
falls of high-protein manna,
much of it gnaws at Ireland from afar.
Make of your left hand
not two triangles stitched together
but a throne for your right,
like the darnel—like the arm
of St Gertrude emerging from her shrine
to receive offerings.