Thomas Kinsella

 The poet remembers Mr D., an old man familiar to him from his area. He would often see Mr D. in pubs around the neighbourhood.  He remembers him as an ‘ageing’ individual no longer able to drink alcohol quickly.  Yet Mr D was still nimble and agile: ‘A man still light of foot’.  Though he was old he still took care of his appearance. His shoes were polished and his scarf carefully tucked in.

 Mr D was a terrible gossip. The stories he liked to tell were malicious and damaged people’s reputations.  This is suggested when the poet refers to the ‘stabbing little’ tales Mr D would tell.  Mr D took delight in this vicious gossip: ‘his quiet tongue/ Danced to such cheerful slander’.  Mr D. did not put up with people he thought foolish. His smile was ‘scathing’, suggesting that he was a critical person.

 The poet claims to have seen Mr D. after he died - he says he saw him leaving a group of his fellow-drinkers in the pub, having just told one of his gossipy stories.  He also claims to have seen him on the river- bank, walking under the streetlights.  The poet claims Mr D. was in poor physical condition as he walked and seemed to be in pain.

The Power of Memory  The poet’s memories of Mr D. are so strong and vivid that the dead old man seemed to be standing in front of him once again.  The poem suggests how clearly the dead remain in our memories even after they are gone.

The two sides of Mr D.  The poem presents two differing pictures of Mr D. One is a picture of a confident, well- dressed drinker, gossiping with his friends in a bar.  The other picture is an intensely lonely one. There is something very sad about Mr D. walking alone by the riverbank, slipping in and out of darkness.

A ghost story  The poet says he saw the man twice after his death. Is he claiming to have seen a ghost?  If this poem is a ghost story, then it is one that presents a very bleak view of life after death. Mr D. does not seem to have found peace after death.  Instead, his spirit seems to wander restlessly through the night in the darkness by the river-bank.

1. List, in your own words, the different points made about Mr D. in the poem’s opening 6 lines. 2. What kind of conversation is suggested by the phrase ‘murmured stabbing little tale’. Give reasons for your answer. 3. Write a short paragraph describing your personal response to this poem. Did you find it sad or hopeful, unsettling or uplifting? Why?