In “A Fairy Hunt,” Ledwidge gives us a glimpse of a hidden chase that only a chosen few can perceive. The speaker says he was born with a rare gift: when the moon is thin, he can hear the fairy horn calling the hounds of Finn. He hears the hounds, the horn, and Bran’s voice as clear as Christmas bells across snow. In his secret place, a fairy fox passes by with moonlight on its face, and then scarlet riders flash through the dusky glen, thick as poppies in a cornfield.
The mood is thrilling and magical rather than frightening. The speaker feels pure excitement at being allowed to witness this wild, beautiful chase. Even the owls leave their dusty trees to listen, and the poem carries the reader along with that same breathless, joyful wonder.