The poem looks back on the battle at Mametz Wood where the Welsh Division fought during the Battle of the Somme. Years later bones are still being turned up by farmers.
Farrier
The narrator describes a farrier as he approaches a mare in a stable. The farrier hoofs the horse, likening his actions to the work of a seamstress, though working with steal and “banding on a shoe”.
Marking time
The speaker remembers a time with his partner where their lust took over before they reached their bed and traces the mark on her back that acceded while they had sex on the floor. He notes that the mark is fading just as their memories will, though he notes that although all else may fade, including their love, there will always be a faint scar there.
Night windows
The speaker remembers another sexual encounter with his lover where they left the hall light on so they could see, knowing that this could leave them silhouetted in their window drapes. He becomes distracted within the poem as he watches the window lights outside switch off one by one, until suddenly they are finished and the women leaves the room, seemingly without a word.
Farther
The speaker tells us of the time he climbed the Skirrid (as in Skirrid hill in Wales) with his father, the day after boxing day. He can feel the shift in their age and the mental authority it brings shifting as they both grow older. The two reach the top and the speaker sets up a camera, reaching for his father both metaphorically and literally as the poem ends.
