An August Night

Heaney’s titles often open more than a single line of suggestion; in this piece a possible play on the word ‘august’  linking a month that offers outdoor nocturnal nature-spotting opportunities with the hands of a venerable father. Heaney focuses on his father Patrick Heaney’s hands that he saw in a dream (again last night). The hands were those of the man: his warm heart, diminutive stature (small) and broad experience (knowledgeable). The interlacing of his fingers conjured up the contortions of a pair of fierce predators (two ferrets) at play; their aloofness (by themselves) is a further clue to his father’s nature. Hands in a dream but in the beloved august landscape (moonlit field) where such sightings were possible. Heaney is a […]