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 MemoryThe 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 storyThe 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?