Seamus Heaney

Sloe Gin

love lyric poem haunting

Sloe Gin - meaning Summary

Preserved Memory in a Bottle

The poem recalls sloe gin being made and later opened, with its scent and taste reviving the memory of a bush, the pantry, and the season it came from. The final toast turns the drink into a small act of remembrance and gratitude, linking the preserved fruit to a preserved feeling.

Read Complete Analyses

The clear weather of juniper darkened into winter. She fed gin to sloes and sealed the glass container. When I unscrewed it I smelled the disturbed tart stillness of a bush rising through the pantry. When I poured it it had a cutting edge and flamed like Betelgeuse. I drink to you in smoke-mirled, blue- black sloes, bitter and dependable.

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