‘Two ferries and a fair bit of walking’
Extract from Around a Thin Place
By Jane Bentley and Neil Paynter
Published by Wild Goose Publications
To Get to Iona
By Ruth Burgess
To get to Iona
it takes me
the Underground
three trains
a coach
two ferries
and a fair bit of walking.
To get to Iona
it takes me
sandwiches
coffee
sweets
a bottle of water
and sometimes
on the boat
an egg-and-bacon butty.
To get to Iona
it takes me
timetables
The Guardian quick crossword
a book
a pen and some paper
and whatever magazines
people leave behind them
on the trains.
To get to Iona
it takes me
smiles
conversations
laughter
listening
memories
and often tears.
To get to Iona
it takes me
risks
prayers
work
wonder
minutes and days
and the passing of years.
That’s what it takes me
to get to Iona.
What will it take you?