The Only Time Our Adult Hands Touched I was 29, he was 72 We were building up a stone wall That a Hereford bullock knocked When trying to leap over Our hands went for the same stone Then both pulled back I was embarrassed That’s how he raised me He said after 7 hours ‘Ah … Read more
The Bridge After Meryon Bridge of Be-ing, all arches mirrrored upon The river running – Heraclitean ; Looming above… turret trumpeting, All Barnonial excess, pure 19th century. And aligned in sheer proximity the great monolith Of glass and concrete, its emphasis Presenting a sheer 20th century existentialism. Seen from the quays, it’s pure Baudelaire! The … Read more
Irish Rail Dublin, that old whore, with her piss -stained pavements Abruptly transforms into a woman of a certain station. Such are the, at once, brutal and subtle shifts where In an instant, Hell aligns in an altogether strict Congruence… Like when you climb aboard The final commuter train of the week on a Friday … Read more
Poems in the Manner of the Devil After Alexandar Ristović (1933-1994) If you can’t chew on oxtail, eat knuckles instead. The bounty of bedlam, Let these crumbs be your Thanksgiving, Or Last Suppers. Imitation is always the greatest form of flattery. See the world now through the light of wine. Do you have confidence in … Read more
Spring For Lois P. Jones I The gentle discord of rainfall, its alternating static dance are Reeds of air in suspension before the corona of sensation. A droplet splashes and trickles along your neck, its joyous grief is welcomed by you with a shudder. The courage of the leaf passes beneath the banks of … Read more
Father Peter McVerry has been working with homeless people for over forty years. When he started there were about a thousand homeless in Ireland. Now, there are officially about eight thousand, with many others unofficially so. Last week, Daniele Idini caught up with the legendary social justice campaigner. Daniele Idini (DI): You have seen different … Read more
Encumeada It was the very last shot on the roll Before the film disappeared into the spool – You, sitting on the terrace, on a three-legged stool. That night, you felt too tired, you said For a glass of vinho verde, and headed to bed At half-past eight. We had spent the days In … Read more
Dublin Bay South by-election candidate Peter Dooley has an impressive track record of fighting for a just society, especially through the Dublin Renters’ Union, and unlike many on the left in Ireland, has drawn attention to the devastation to ordinary people’s lives caused by the longest lockdown in Europe. This by-election in Dublin Bay South … Read more
Covid-19 has perhaps spelt a temporary death for, amongst many other things, flaneurship – that is, the practise of being able to wander throughout a city freely and unobstructed, making observations as one goes. Peter O’ Neill’s latest collection addresses the flaneur directly. With a background in translation, academia and his long- avowed admiration of … Read more