e character of Colum. Cows are quiet and don’t do anything to anyone, yet they are eventually killed for no good reason: just how Colum McCartney was killed. Furthermore, the cows show how even they sense that the environment is not safe and that there is something wrong: they know what is happening. The image of the mist is almost used as a way of transitioning from the environment of Colum, into the thoughts of Heaney. “Drowning in dew. Like a dull blade with its edgeHoned bright. Lough Beg half-shines under the haze.”I turn because the sweeping of your feetHas stopped behind me, to find you on your kneesWith blood and roadside muck in your hair and eyes, Then kneel in front of you in brimming grassIn these lines Seamus Heaney discusses how he feels his relation ship with Colum was, and how it abruptly terminated. It is important that Heaney portrays the image of him and his cousin walking by the lake, to the viewer, in order to express how they had a good relationship because the lake represents safety [“Honed bright.”] and positive feelings. Then he goes on to talk about this abrupt termination of his relationship by saying “because the sweeping of your feet / Has stopped behind me.” Even though, in his description on how he believed things should have been, he describes Colum as bloody and dying at his knees, perhaps praying he wont die, this exhibits how drastically Heaney wished he could have at least seen his cousin before he died. On account of his cousin being killed in the middle of hostile territory, the chances were that Seamus Heaney never recovered Colum McCartney’s body. And gather up cold handfuls of the dew To wash you. Cousin. I dab you clean with mossFine as the drizzle out of a low cloud. I lift you under the arms and lay you flat. With rushes that shoot green again. I plaitGreen scapulars to wear over your shroud. [Lines 39-44]In these six li...
