Wormley

Away : This is a reply to someone who has tried to assert moderation. It says go away. Don't hold me back (anchor me). Gavin's anger needs expression lest it erupts inappropriately aimed, or worse (to him), dissolve, taking, with it, his soul. He sees himself as a being of anger, the incarnation of rage, a fury. Indignation must be acted on until the wrongs of the past are righted. McGuiness in his travels spent many years as a sailor and also as a farmer. His sea days were about equally divided as a sign-on hand on merchant marine vessels and as a fisherman. Once the authorities got wind of striking poetry retold by sailors and began asking questions, he was gone. The anchor is a nautical metaphor of the man himself. It is not too different from the land metaphor of being "planted", rooted in a cause. Against You : One of his most recent poems, this is not one of his poetic best, to be sure. However, it clearly provides insight to his breaking a vow of literary silence, of English - that is. The voice of the piece is certainly McGuiness. But the tone suggests that he is, himself, the intended listener, the conversation of a man talking to himself, considering alternatives, goals. Gavin had been living in America for some time. We know, for certain, that part of that time was in Ohio and in Illinois. An association with a Mr. Reilly settled him for a period. That settling was not destined to last due to his friend's ill health. The old rage resurfaces, as evidenced by this piece written just after the death of his American friend. The topic is fairly straightforward. Gavin McGuiness accepts that the language of America is not English. He adopts 'American' as a language of power, a weapon in his fight. He concedes the power of English, but asserts the greater power of the offspring language. He sets out an agenda. Some of the military imagery derives from his association with Richard Reilly who studied military history in retirement after a long military career.