Beyond the Hurt
Beyond the hurt lies the hurt Of a belief that lies shattered; A trust and a judgement exposed To…
Atlas (after Jules Supervielle)
The Earth is so heavy to carry. Each of us has a weight on our back – the dead,…
First Days of the World (God Speaks)
I hurry with the hare, I’m drenched with the fish, I hide with the weasel, take flight with the…
My Brief Career in Medicine
This one believed I maybe had the brains this other that I had the right demeanour but the Schools…
Poem of the Late Tang
In Wat Phanan Choeng, beneath the eighty-foot gold Buddha thronged with prostrate devotees, I’m distracted by a faint tang…
Boaz Asleep
Translated by Len Krisak Bone-weary from his labour, Boaz slept; The threshing floor was where he’d worked all day.…
I’m Sleeping on the Roof Tonight
The stars seem to be swirling out of a van Gogh painting, twinkling now and then like enchanted girls…
Napkin Swans
I wanted to know where the napkin swans came from. Perched on the tables, waiting to be unfurled. So…
The Untenanted Room
I saw the forest and I saw the land; I looked for marvels, but I could not find them.…
Garvagh Election
When the evenings clear everything looks dirty again like a dead blackbird picked clean ploughed into the lane the…
Time Travellers
The sick are well, dead smiling, old are young, framed photos bloom on windowsills and walls, I am a…
Severe Sweetness
(St. Theresa of Avila, Bernini) The woman is not perfected, she moans. She has travelled so far her body…
Blade of Bread
Nothing goes inside this tank, It’s called a bank. Not even the pay Which used to flow Like the…
Time and Tide
He asks his carer Where did last Thursday go? She answers Time’s peculiar as she empties water from the…