Row on serried row they sit,

graded banks of paleocene pillars,

parading from cliffs to sea.

Basalt, formed from cooled lava,

fractured into these iconic shapes.

 

A simple fact perhaps, yet

the charisma of legend

challenges cold science.

 

A tale of giants squabbling

across the savage sea,

the story that ever begets

smiles, a yearning for truth

in childhood yarns

and faerie myth.

 

Amid oft-told stories of

leprechauns and bean sí,

a clash of giants takes its place

tells of a time when  Finn MacCool

built his causeway,

stepping stones to Staffa,

met Benandonner in bitter battle,

laying waste to lough and land,

and history books.