This white gold ring,
two hands clasp tight,
the heart shaped diamond in the centre,
and two round cut diamonds in the crown.
Gifted twenty-five years ago,
delicately placed upon my finger.
It is real.
It is love.
I skirt the Claddagh shorelines,
boats glide through Galway Bay,
where once the old thatched village gleamed,
the skies cerulean
clouds bruised violet —
Richard Joyce, its goldsmith, appears on the horizon,
glances sharp and deep,
in this “City of the Tribes,”
his Claddagh ring continues its seduction,
he smiles at the world,
his eyes …bright jewels.