District and Circle

Exploring the tension between past and present, the collection captures a haunting clarity through vivid imagery drawn from childhood memories and contemporary anxieties. Heaney reflects on tangible objects like railway sleepers and sledgehammers, juxtaposing them with modern fears such as climate change and urban danger. The poems convey a sense of vulnerability in a world where "anything can happen," ultimately highlighting the weight of memory against the backdrop of a menaced twenty-first century.