Niamh Attends to the Sick of the Supermarket, a poem by Mícheál McCann

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Sunday Miscellany 1 min 1 speaker 4 chapters transcribed 6 hours ago
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How does the poet blend canonical saints with everyday miracles?

Mícheál McCann 0:00
In my book, Lives of the Saints, I wanted to mix the canonical, what society values, and the apocryphal, what it doesn't necessarily. It struck me that there were so
many
Mícheál McCann 0:14
ordinary people who do really miraculous things all the time. So this is one of those ordinary people. doing extraordinary things. Neve attends to the sick of the supermarket.

What is the story of Neve Higgins caring for the sick in the supermarket?

Mícheál McCann 0:28
For Neve Higgins. They flock like brittle songbirds, chorusing after her, to this impressively sized Azda, in Askillin, where Neve pursues quality rest. Her hands thrum with delight being ungloved. Finally, they say. After many days and to night, attending the second dying

How are Neve’s small acts described as miracles that bring light to people?

Mícheál McCann 0:53
She is known for many miracles. and also enabling great bouts of light within people, even as they go. Weary from the journey and many prior visitations, she finds a hard plastic seat in the Aztec cafe with a black coffee, no sugar, to take a breath. Her respite is short lived, as one of the sick is woozing over a plate of unseasoned chips. Oh mamma, nave that child's not well.

What reflections does the poet share about resurrection and lingering faces?

Mícheál McCann 1:22
Coffee untouched, Neve lays her hands onto the woman. Her brow soon relaxes. I wonder. If after her little acts of resurrection, faces linger, as hers does to me. Often and late.

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