unlooked-for, perhaps, but present, this: here I am
sand sieves out the grip of clenchéd fist - here, I am

your eyes turn towards horizons only you can see,
but behind you I can stand, insist: here I am

my fields lay in fallow rest for seasons’ stirrings;
now carve we furrows in springtime mist; here, I am

a yawning gulf of endless deep these stars divide;
look on them! their light can coexist: here, I am

the sound your footstep makes imprinted in my ear;
heartbeats in your time, there anapest, here iamb

my eyes have blurred with tears and stained the printed page;
for those words you wrote, but there you kissed - here I am!

a quiet room and dim, a silent breath that stirs;
the softest whisper would not be missed - here I am

shall I forget you - no, not forget, but not think;
your absence brings sharper emphasis - here I am!

a line is drawn, no further can Niamh go than this:
whether joyous shout or damning hiss, here I am