DiggingBetween my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests; snug as a gun. Under my window, a clean rasping sound When the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father, digging. I look down Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds Bends low, comes up twenty years away Stooping in rhythm through potato drills Where he was digging. The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft Against the inside knee was levered firmly. He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep To scatter new potatoes that we picked, Loving their cool hardness in our hands. By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man. My grandfather cut more turf in a day Than any other man on Toner’s bog. Once I carried him milk in a bottle Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up To drink it, then fell to right away Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods Over his shoulder, going down and down For the good turf. Digging.The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge Through living roots awaken in my head. But I’ve no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it. Seamus Heaney
About This Quote

I am a writer and a poet, and my goal is to write a book of my own. Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard for me, but sometimes I feel like I am going up against a brick wall. My parents have always been supportive of me as a writer, even when I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to do it. Every time they read one of my stories or poems they are happy with what I have done.

They have helped me along the way with advice and suggestions, but now that they are getting older, my writing is their main focus. As a writer, I am inspired by my mother because she has been an avid reader all of her life and she still loves to read books today. She also has a knack for writing.

If she isn't writing poetry or novels, she will be putting up pictures of flowers on her blog, "The Violet's Attic." My father is also an avid reader and likes to write down his thoughts in his journal everyday. He also enjoys writing down his thoughts in his journal. My grandfather is very different than any other author out there.

He doesn't write much because he doesn't think anyone would want to read his work, but he does write poetry on occasion that he keeps hidden in his room. He also enjoys reading other people's work and writing comments about the authors' work in his journal everyday.

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More Quotes By Seamus Heaney
  1. It is always betterto avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this worldmeans waiting for our end. Let whoever canwin glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.
  2. History says, Don’t hope On this side of the grave, But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme
  3. If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way.
  4. All I know is a door into the dark
  5. I can't think of a case where poems changed the world, but what they do is they change people's understanding of what's going on in the world.
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