25 APRIL 1987, Page 47

Emblems

They went away, the sad times.

It wasn't I who turned them out of doors, but another.

The swifts have returned. They've dropped their burden of long journeys. With what joy they scream over the rooftops.

Pour the coffee. Sit by the fire that says home. Tomorrow we'll welcome all the tomorrows there are to be.

Do you hear the swifts? They tie together the bright light. They nest in secret places.

Norman MacCaig