My poetry is sometimes inspired by an image, while at other times I create a piece of art to accompany the words.
Dublin Nights
Dublin on a rainy night. The wet film plays with the coloured lights. The streets go quiet. The city is washed, bathing in reflection. .
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Manes of Molyneux
Follow the clip clopping from Thomas Street, Billy kicks a door, Bob hangs on the wall, Hidden from the shopping on Thomas Street, straw litters the floor, the kids shout a call, Hiding in the quiet lane off Thomas Street, equine lovers work, picture tells a tale, Grooming in that lane off Thomas Street, horse in […]
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Refugee
Bloodlines, borders, beliefs Bloodshed, bullets, bombs. Bleeding, buildings burning Beloved, brothers bludgeoned. Be for living, be for giving Be generous, be forgiving. No borders, no bloodshed No bullets, no bombing. Bothers, brotherhood be, Believe, be loving, be loved. Ciaran Burke
Remains
Remains Lying lost in blankets The tiny skeletal form Not yet the remains We wait for her to go. A brief moment of facial recognition. Incoherent mumbles A declaration of love? A plea for repose? Or admonishment For promises broken? From sunken lips, the utterance. Eyes meet in watery glances Helpless hands in comforting delusions. […]
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Be Afraid of the Wolf
Be Afraid Of The Wolf The words of the poet Written with intelligence and love Are words understood by few. Stanzas and couplets Are hidden, meaning to be mined From carved stone by determined minds. Read in comfort of secured lives. In the cold night The lone wolf howls. The angry calls are no words […]
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Circle
Paralyzed, my body moves creating the lies, writing a fiction for the world to read. I am lost, making my way through the routine, the daily show to smile, to speak, to act. I seem better today, my performance fools you, living in the circle to return to the end, to start again… Ciaran Burke
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The Creeper
The Creeper These months I have admired you Lit by the summer sun Casting a shadow, an elegant silhouette, In a state of constant emergence. I watched your slow progress Reaching for the glass Tapping it, aided by the air, Or in stillness, bejeweled with rain. Now hanging from the eve Between a sway and […]
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Crack
Brick and mortar, rough reality beneath the smooth render of a public face. The first crack, goes unnoticed. The lines deepen, spreading the fear. Crumbling, neglected, weathered and helpless. The smooth facade breaks and a hidden structure of an existence revealed. A hole to a reality is opened, the anguish of a secret exposed in […]
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Silent Faces
Silent Faces Faces of time that do not tick, numbered and silent, they look out at passing lives reflected in high prices. I walk past a saviour fallen in a woman’s arms the doors of his house no home to a discarded soul. Lost like dropped gloves, thrown butts and fallen leaves. An invisible face […]
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The Square
The Square The dark lines lead the way, to carry the eye and our path follows, each one carefully laid, accurately measured, one on top of the other. Blocks and squares, clean edges, reflecting light in shades of sapping greys. Signs of life hiding within, behind clean facades of achievement. Access to the world is […]
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BFF
You see me, a singularity, A person of solitude, But I have company. My companion, a constancy, A comforting lacuna, My dark dependent. A daily embrace, Loving and needing, We pledge loyalty. Intimate co-existence, We sit together, We feed our mutual reliance. I say that I will leave, And break our solemn bond, I overcome […]
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Rendezvous
Your fall, golden death, so admired. Wind blown, destination unknown. A surrender to the air laid to temporary relief. Vulnerable, at mercy to the elements. no control of destiny, a hostage to fate. Nature, the cruel mistress does not let her subjects rest, a whimsical breath and they obey. I am glad that I […]
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Dark Room
The dark room, light fledwhen I clicked the switch,unheard noises fill the space,creak of wood, gurgles in pipes.Waiting.. Lying… breathing…I start to fall, the slow drift.Click!The light inside that wont turn off.Flip to the back, open lidsdarkness fadesnoises they whisper,thoughts start to shout.Plans for tomorrow, fears from the past,what if ? I should have, I […]
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Thirty Minutes
Two dark windows to sadnessa smile to bury the pain.Waiting for the next customerbreathing nicotine to kill time.Beneath a false identityfragile truths have hardenedinto a life of struggle,kindness has no trust.Each call an opportunityselling a lie, for their pleasureto pretend for thirty minutes,they will gladly pay.Victim, of the cultureyou are reduced to flesh,risking every encounter,no […]
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Georgian Squares
Coal holes in resplendent decorationa reminder of darker timeswhen sulphurus clouds would hang lowover Georgian squares in colonial lands.Now they are redundantas the empirical reignelegant existence of ornamenttread by unknowing feet.Under the murky orange glowplains throw their shadowy formson granite edged pavementscracked and wearing of pedestrian lives.The dark square rests for the eveningsecured by iron, […]
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As I Lie
After my fall, I lieAs I have been lying,to create a mythology of existence,the reality of an untruthful truth.I lie, waiting for admiration,some recognition of my presence,highlighted in a cold illumination,venal structures, my underside exposed.As I lie, I wait, for the external force,The reality to move me,Tumble me, blow me to a dark place where […]
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Flirtation of light
Reflecting, the world is not as it seems.Appearing static on the great flow,images distorted, golden lines blurred, wrinkled colours shiver in my eyes.A vague impression of what really isthe shimmering surface hiding darkness below,in the cool depth another world lives.Where our survival, impossiblewhile other life thrives in a cold realm.For those moments, illusory time that […]
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The Vulnerable Reason
You were differentfrom the crowd of conformingstanding out,aware of your uniquenessthat you worewith undrerstated pride.Like the othersyou performed your task,your dutiesfor the system of growthat any expense,you had no choice.You lived to leave,waiting for the right timeThe perfect scenariothat never presentsalways an excuse,the vulnerable reason.So the seasons passed, the weather changed,your dependence,safety comforted you,fed your […]
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Go!
The place where you used to sitno longer has your shape.Your framed face adorns a wall,now your presence is gone.The greeting of the morningand a nocturnal farewell,feeling the cold absenceof your corporeal frailty.The dead, held to our mortalityby the strength of grioefmemories pulling them back.Tears, tear the seamsbetween existence and the ether,we haunt their souls.My […]
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Feed the King
Clean sharp linesthe glowing displaycolourful temptationpromising instant satisfaction.Served in a bunchicken or beefsingle serving condimentspresented on a plastic tray.Minimum wages workedfor maximum efficiency,accents from the Eastserve native nasal whines.Counting the centsthe pension stretcheda meal with teatemprary and cheap remedy.Mulitnational menupackaging pollutionfilling the populationprofits for the King.- Ciaran Burke
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Empty Room
The strong walls we buildprotecting our private worldsvestibules of our secrecycompartments for our sanity.Rooms, communal we sharecostumed and clothed,or private places secured by keyfor our naked selves to hide.Into our rooms we inviteguests to dine, friends to talk,other doors we prefer to closeonly opened for love or need.Closed doors, lead to empty roomsthe air chokes […]
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Acclimatised To Silence
Crying, my first sounds,and I cried for two years more.I cried for hunger, I cried of anger,I cried for love, I cried when I was bored.Fart noises and nonsense,gibberish and leaf-formed words.I was encouraged and cajoled,each performance induced loud laughter.First words, long awaited,followed by unharnessed monologues,soliloquies on the daily adventures,the drama of LEGO construction.Then, the […]
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Mirror
Is the face in your mirror notthe beauty that looks at me?A nose too big, uneven ears,brows that bush, lips too thin?Parental comments,childhood teasing,critical teacher,a friend that laughed.Infintissimal momentsof no significance,destroy your worldfor infinite time.Comparing with the lie,competing, mendacious image,marketing concoction,fictional reality.Perfection, dream destination,chasing the horizon,the perfect view,elusive, so far away.Perhaps the mirror will crack,and […]
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The Fallen
Lying fallen on winter’s earthneither the beginning nor the end.On a May morning whispering summer’s promisewarmth shone on the open bloom.Receptive and receiving, attraction of lifepollen brought by buzzing wings.Open receptacle, filled with the other half of lifeunion of two becoming one.Swelling with progress, fed by the living,miracle of sunlight, flesh enclosing seed.Reaching the limits, […]
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The Black Wall
The walls have eyesembedded in the grainby their arboreal pastcooncentric creation of years.Blackened boards, tarred preservationembued with dark angel mystiqueabsorbing the esseence of others’ livesthe animal kingdom of human kinds.Monument to the carpenteradorned by work of smithlocked doors covet the emptinessuntility no longer them reason.Life from the earthfrays at the contactcoating the surfacewith a verdant […]
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Travel Companion
The journey’s end and returning to the startaduly child, visit to the parent of pastthe mother, the future dependentevery mile, regressing a voyage of repression.A doo opens to reawakenmemories in nostalgia sodden airodours of childhoo, reminders of youth and what’s best for you love.The greeting as always warma kiss, the subtle jibehidden in sibling praiseand the […]
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Flow
The liquid flowsa rivulet of rain’s creationreflection of silverthe fading of a day.Gravity is drivingon path of least resistancefitting to the contoursa worn and broken road.Rippled by the woundsand black tarmac cracksthe rivuletis mouldedto thehard surroundings.Compromise of the roaddestiny the low pointTo join the quiet poolthen drain to the seaor become the invisible vapour,be the […]
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The Humid Vapours
Staring into the black pool abyssmy face is an image of distorted wantfeeling the warmth rising to my cheeksinhaling the odours, fruits from Africa.Teasing steam rises from the cupthe liquid too hot for my mouthI settle for content of inhalationhumid vapours of the roasted bean.Farmers of Burundi caring for plantationhands pick the red fruits for […]
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Cry
The glaze, covering the windowto the soul, the optical resolututionour view, to the worldthe open expression of the self.The brine gathersfilling the holeswater over broken icethe surface obscure.The facial collapsefirst flows escapetrembling of lipsbroken down defenders.The guttural sobpain given sound well of hurt, of sorrowoverflows, the bowing head.The hands moveface receiving solaceas the body collapsesbroken […]
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Hiatus
The ceiling stayed white until i turned on the lightspreading the grey star shadow into existencepink butterfly lampshade, pendant around the bulbthe blurred decoration reaching down the wall. Antibiotic remedy flowing around my systemsick note protecting me from dismissalpainkiller killing pain delivering me to comfortduvet my companion for the coming days.Mind wandering to places hidden from […]
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Trapped Amber
Amber jewels trapped on the windowblack broken by a street lightI destroy the vulnerable beautydrawing my finger across the glass.Slowly the tip becomes moistnow addicted, I continue to erasethe beauty of the light trappedin condensed water, wanting black to return.Clarity refuses to reward my effortinstead uneven edges persistremnant lines of aqueous resistancefrustrating my efforts to […]
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Their Fate In My Shopping Basket
I crumpled the bottle and squashed the boxinto a bin marked green to travel far awayI bought organic with the extra packagingweighing the guilt against the lack of spraysFlouride in the water, cleared within alumchlorine cleansed and bacteria freeversus water from a spring in Tipperaryin a bottle that will never die or rotThe apple is […]
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The Dark Union
The darkness persisted, staying after i lifted my lids.I heard time ticking but did not care to knowembracing the darkness as it held me,nou mutual acceptancedaytime daytime hours or midnightht moment, it mattered not.The eternal counting of time in ticks, our songwe laid together, darkness and me, hoping it would never endknowing that when light […]
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Voyeur Of the Norm
The pavementbore my burdenunder the orangeof suburban nightboxes of uniformitydeveloper of rowsemitting the warm glowunwelcoming blinded lightsthe homogenous hedgesmaintain neighborly relations.I the outsider looked ina temporary longingto witness the silhouette livesbeyond the drapes,I moved to a windowwith curtains drawnsqueezing betweenthe never off roadand manicured crown of bay.I glimpsed through a curtain crackthe life of suburban […]
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Beautiful Conundrum
Reverse, rewinding, looking to find the sourcethe chaos of neural interference that hidesa pattern that exists hidden in the theoreticalwhile the practical fights to deny the comprehension.The pieces keep dancing turning light into pixelsmagnified in retinal definition, confusing the messageclarity deceiving, hiding in the momentum of velocitylight reflecting, refracting, dazzling the senses.Golden rain and silver […]
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Emergency Department
Five hours I had been waitingnot quite she saidFour hours and forty seven minutessix ahead of you nowCold air in the waiting room write a letter to the managerdon’t sit on the floorsnapping at the young girlThe television the focus as the fifth hour turned to six, despair sat in the cornerand hope went to […]
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EUnionism Rejection
The leaders who will not lead oblivious of oblivion of the self serving rhetoric and blinkered ideals descending the spiral of regression to chaos learning nothing from history clinging to dreams born from their colonial pasts where privilege and exploitation served their greed and favoured the few. Rose tinted memories nurtured by the dung heap […]
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Abducted by desire
The engine still runningits rhythm and hum out of tune with the randompercussion of precipitation onthe metal roof andthe tuneless screech ofworn out wipers.Illuminated for a momentin brake light redthe taxi fare destinationof the early hourreveller returning aloneunsteady closing stoopof car door slammed with drunkenvigour loud farewellThe heavy breathing clung toa cold interior cloudingagainst glass to […]
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Christmas Presence
Golden liquids, white topping blackempty vessels and glasses half fullnight around the table, sitting highbonded by the past, union of the reunited Admissions and propositions, accusationsexaggerating the details, chronology flexible in hindsight, outcomes variablememory serving well, the story continues Sober was a time in the past, the morninglies far over the horizon, beyond garlic fries, […]
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Christmas Day
From the fog I emergedopposing the the needleas the road submitted tomy acceleration the whiteline broken merging withmy constant velocity driving me to returnto the childhood pastto celebrate the traditionswith the living half of whomgave me life the onewith whom I fought disappointed despaired by my differencelacking in conformity and sometimesI hurt from the flippancyannoyed […]
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New Year Eve Dublin
The beauty of the lightpainting the river in colourbuildings in spectral decorationcelebration and jubilationCrossing the bridge walk past another on cardboard beddinga cardboard appealcardboard cup collectingdonations of conscience a plea with watery eyesa pale face with no homewe choose to ignoreunable to face the failurebury the shame let the party begin. Ciaran Burke
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What’s up?
I am doing goodthe last words that I readyour final textnothing more to addI replied laterthen I waited for moretwo ticks of greychecking to see them change No responseI messaged once moreone tick greyunchanging waiting in the darkin daylight the single grey remainedI rationalized theft of your deviceflushed down the toiletscreen crackedin for repairThen I […]
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Stability
If stability is more bodies on the streetsstatistics wrapped in cardboardHuddled in door ways coffee cup changeVolunteer soup services and GPO meals If stability is thousands in hotel roomschildren with no gardens for playhome cooked meals an impossible dream moving out on rugby weekends and st Patrick If stability is 15 hours of pain and […]
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Shades
Somewhere between the white and blackis the reality that gives life and meaningThe dark outline drawn on white parchmenta shape unfulfilled, undefined and emptyWith the pressure from the creators handgraphite depth, charcoal, ink and pigmentthe shading, the result of shadow and lightWithout the softened lines and textures of complexity evoked from art and inspirationwe are […]
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Textured Existence
Clear and flat unblemished surfacecleaned and shining, returns the lightno bumps to shadow no hollows of darkplain and pure reflecting perfect brigbrightIn the shine we see the perfection the reflection of the others reversedmimicking the movements copycatthe world trapped in flat dimensionA curve distorts our visceral perception stretching focus and rearranging distance greater standing backcreating portrait impure grotesque A […]
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Crumbs
Obtuse triangle of sunlight captures the worktop corner dull browns and murky beigebecome golden illuminationsthe dull veneer of fake stonetransformed into a corner of hope With earths rotation the anglechanges and lightened marble grows from sliver to wedgeinterface of shadow and light creepstowards me threatening to burn me with a bright outlook The static fallen […]
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Blind
I see the light, bright and positivewe should be grateful for the daysloping grey lines on cupboard doorthe blue sky blinds my hurting sightAnd in the painful illumination I hide covering my eyes cowering beneaththe closed lids of fear from the pastdreading the hours that bring the futureAs shadows fade into their brotherhoodof evening darkness […]
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Memory Puddles
Looking back into the tunnels of timethe debris of the past litters the groundevidence of mis-spent years over spentlost time and empty beer kegs uncollected Yet there is a beauty in that past of recollection the warm tones of nostalgia stainingthe old brick work that defines the narrow view of life trapped between wallsThe past seems clearer and […]
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Neighbourhood Watch
The weakening light of the daysetting in the lengthening season casting skinny shadows of a nakedtree over the pale green moss natures revenge taking backgreening black spaces of the suburbsA red bin with wheels awaiting the homecoming of commuters travellingring road lanes forming the border of city and the western civilisationthe price line of developmentthat defines your status in […]
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Burden Broken
I carried the rock and held it closeIt’s mass increasing with each stepas the weight of its burden increasedI gathered it tightly on my chestI could not let it go had no respite for fear that it would roll awayand that I would then give chaseas it obeyed gravity, me in its wakeI would see the […]
Species
She is mixed race, I was toldand I looked at her photo in wonderher beautiful complexionsoft features framing a hypnotic smileBut her beauty aside, what made me mesmerise was figuring the other halfTwo races in one face, two specieshybridised to take human formIf this beauty is one half sapienswhat act of procreation led to thisbeautiful creation? […]
Rhapsody
Mechanical movement, spinning velocityI am earthed to asphalt bypass heavenas sub-cranial wheels transport merevolutions bring me to a destinationNot final, a welcome break in momentumtemporary locus to exchange and changereconnect and connect in verbal swapsinformation flowing on aural highwaysHistories revisited, futures unplannedlove stories broken by the unbrokenfantasies explored, intimate low volumewhile searching souls look for […]
Cathedral of Wood
Roots grow to the pulse of the orbitbranches reach to the warmth of the sunfuelled by light from the heavensand water that fell to earthStems grow, life measured in ringswe live in the air that they breathmajestic cathedral of woodmonument to life, they grow, we live.- Ciaran Burke
Self Improvement Blues
Theoretical journey to self improvementin the mind it all makes sense, explorationstretched leg places my foot on the kerbstonesidewalk on the street of positive actionKnowing what is expectedthe weight of judgementI should do what is rightmy mind lays out a pathThe trust of others given in faithI know what I could achievein moments of clarity […]
Rehearsal
Two strangers, passing texts in the nightcharacters lauded with hope, expectationbad punctuation leads tomisunderstanding, misinterpretation killsUnexpected coffee here the DARTmeets the garden of Ireland in thegray house peppermint tea loose leafothers in the sieve, americans coolsDark windows are bright with lifethe smile lighting the thespianbetween the curtains of blackcoils, premiere performance acts.Irrelevance of time the […]
Custody
Their gloved hands held tightcrossing the road to final momentsthe child’s walk morphed into a skipwhile proud father kept his adult strideHis Baltic features warm with smileschilled by the north wind blowingbetween the great buildings androws of weekend parkingThe stretching adult hand grasps aira back pat missed to fleeting feetnow an empty space of childish […]
Beyond Flesh
Tidal waves rush over mecrashing inside my skullwashing through my mindI am drowning, letting goBeauty before me I havenever felt so enraptured bythe spell falling to the wavesnatural seduction, helplessSoft sands stretched arcsreceiving turquoise rippling white laughter beneath thewind caressing tender skinInto paradise I will gladlygo hostage to my feelingsbeyond the flesh under skinwaiting for […]
Retail Therapy On High
From the high point of observationbranded coffee cup on plastic traymy reflection haunting me in thewindow of the concession chainPink neon of three sided squareframing female seduction in redsale sign offering further incentivemannequin in lace bearing plastic thighThe day has passed but the sentimentlingers in the season of consumptionunder chains of light strung out toinduce […]
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Can’t Escape the Light
Lines deepen, effort increasingvision disappears behindnow all I see is red in darkSunlight burning throughskin and flesh, boiling bloodthe green spots danceRelentless movement withstripes of light energyreflection of grey mattersLeaves clattering in motionconstant slavery to the currentsof air under the endless blueBird calls, listen to the songscelebrate the solitude of peacelazy dog shakes his earsI […]
From the Well
I felt the ever increasing depthenvelope me drawing meAccepting the gravity, thepull, I could not resistThe impact of realisationa collision with the wallsA dark well bouncing mehurting, not the bottomI kept smiling as the knocksthrew me further down, hidingthe marks covering my painnot knowing just how deepLight reached down, sliversilluminated protrusions of hopeI reached out […]
Man Flu
I look at the pattern, mirror imagemoist tissue paper unfoldednothing new to reportclear with a little greenSuffering for days, nasal secretionssneezing sprays and phlegmunleashed in coughing attackthere is no reliefAppeals for sympathy go unheededmy critical condition unnoticedviral hell, bacterial torturedeath’s door is openingSure! it is just a cold to youbut I lay here in three […]
Addiction
Unable to change the rhythmmy song remains the samea melody of seductionI leave a trail of destructionnot visible to observationI feel the pain, the desolationNo broken bones bruises or bloodnever a slap punch or kickmy violence is subtle, unseenThe reality of my behaviouris hidden by a mask of civilitya smile a gesture, my cravingWords to […]
Waves
Waves, from the horizon they comeinfused with deaths of sunsetsthe births of days, carrying the beginningsof our being in depths of existenceWorld between the continentsthe communal flow of life and deaththe bearer of life, harvester of soulsflesh to feed the unknowns, fear fulfilling hopeWaves, we ride them searching for reasonin their constant motion of tidal […]
The Look
The empty path leads on a cold walkthrough the still green winter grassto a solitary seated soul alonethe sole incumbent of the wooden benchThe occupant sits entrancedlooking to the distance and no wherenot waiting fo companionjust in the company of the alonenessof the morning, unmovinghypnotised by nothingness of peaceA proud fowl walks with his haremformidable […]
A Moment Of Truth
You just had to have methere was no saying noI satisfied your cravingand then you let me goDisposable empty and usedyou had to let me down easynot throw me to the groundas someone would surely seeSo here on the windowsillI was deposited in clandestinemovement of a nonchalantunnoticed outstretched armWhile waiting for your returnmy pointless pursuit […]
The True Meaning Of Water
She is a river, calm and clearthe origin from far awaymoving to the destinationunknown on this shoreI want to float on the surfacewatch my ripples make picturespatterns and movements creatinggentle waves in the currentIn the flow I willingly follownot fooled by the appearancea mirror image of the worldis not the true meaning of waterBeneath the […]
Path Of The Soul
I walked along a grey surfacefollowing in the footsteps of many who had gone before their souls bound to the thoroughfare by their paces that left no impression nor did the grooves of their footwear gather earth or peddle unsoiled soles vanish without trace The path laid out for utility designed purpose for a place […]
Distribution Hum
Monument of steel construction conductor of current alternating power along the slack dark lines strung out from the metal matrix A tower of modern archictecture distributor of instant energy unleashed by a finger putting pressure on a plastic switch In the quiet of the morning attracted by the magnetic field of the constant hum of […]
Retail Threat To My Manliness
The transaction completed my payment was approved I returned my debit card to custom slot in wallet torn stray unravelling threads of up-cycled tyre from Cambodia Asked if I would require a bag I affirmed my desire to have a handheld repository for my purchase bending disappearing below the counter a lady reappeared to shake […]
Advertisement In Shadow
In the night of the the glow of illumination from above your intricacies painted by shadow on textured wall You seemed so close to touch but when I reached out to feel cold plaster covering block chilled my sinking heart The real you was far away I fell for your projection the beauty of the […]
Resistance
Island of truth, its presence a rebellion of gentle nature a solitary survival bound by iron in a world of hard paths In isolation, a stubborn protest unnoticed by the dog walking suburban lives and pensions discussing first world problems Passing conversation, casts shadows of empty words immune to meaning resistance by a continued presence […]
Minimum Existence
Counting the change hoping to make sense the clatter of copper as coin hits coin a constant metallic taunt of coming up short wish for the beautiful folded silence of paper Decisions of necessity looking in a cupboard portions estimated, ingredients to substitute planning for a lunch box and subsistence supper minimal existence working for […]
Burning Hope
Glowing like an ember awaiting air to re-ignite to awake the world flickering with golden hope burning the skies scorching dark to submission sleeping suburbia trapped in nocturnal dream the moment of rebirth beauty of new day unnoticed we sleep through beautiful time ignoring the light rejecting nature’s pain for passing gratification of now stuck […]
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Past Reverence
Stories told in pictures legacies left in stone history created in carving the masons craft endures Neck reclining eyes focus mind absorbing symbols meanings changing redefined contemporary definition applied Lives of the past live silent in the hewn stone of reverence touched by the visiting present who give praise by admiration. Ciaran Burke
No Wind of Change
Darkness in shades of cloudy grey smothering the blue of the morning coldness shakes confetti-ed flowers tumbling as I wait with engine idling. Brexit on the radio climate change and no change, shots in Blanchardstown stories from others’ world I am unaffected in my cocoon awaiting transformation. Observing light saved in liquid islands creating a […]
Emotions While Waiting For A Medical Consultant Who Is Late For The Appointment
Sitting in the plain upholstered seat watching as the digits change one by one the numbers increase my patience decreasing exponentially as the appointment for the meeting drifts further floating into history. I am tempted to break away from the consultation with my fate to leave the room of waiting to ignore the pain in […]
Control, Alt, Delete
Luminance of hope in late night, sore eyes bright delusion awaiting command, silent emitter glowing white dark characters, combinations secrets and lies code to break, reveal a truth tapping keys hidden identity, charade of life profiles filled await confirmation, false or true no off button control alt delete, no response high speed data slow death, […]
Undress
Dressed in synthetic looking like leather feeling like plastic fake living style elevate with labels define by branding lies dressed in illusion footsteps without trace search for feeling welcome any distraction deception in the dream dare to undress feel naked reality. Ciaran Burke
Air Wave
The breeze rustles with freshness green on the limbs of old wood causing turbulence in my ears constant percussion on my drums unknown tongues tell their stories as trees whisper loud in shimmers conversational snippets just passing nervous words carried on air wave I sit in silent sunshine under the blue listening to voices around […]
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Pink Dress
The pretty pink dress coveted by admiring eyes discarded and stained never to be adorned again Attraction without affection the offering of transaction enticement with colour fragrance drifting in air Passing by the brief encounters mutual self satisfaction symbiotic threshold crossed sweet secretions devoured Used and now useless unwanted filaments of maleness the useless androecium […]
Return
Danzig, not Gdansk the dark tones in the dim light Misfit, the voice unexpected strangers smile exchange, embrace lone souls resigned alone to be, being down tuned and guttural outsider, proud status below the earth underground in union, the tribe a recollection of feeling home Ciaran Burke
Ash to Ash
I am wilderness in the comfort of suburban denial my solitary struggle to grow outside the comfort fence wind carried seed given life on barren roadside land my siblings killed torn from gardens of tidy conformity their seedling growth stomped trampled and destroyed their vigour feared unwanted gifts of nature spurned. I grew unnoticed spindly […]
Commuted sentence
Spray from the road washes the clean propelled existence soaked in fumes daily speed routine wearing down rubber year round daily pilgrims emissions or eviction pollute to survive commute or die. Ciaran Burke
Tumult of Currents
The wind is bending the wood green clothed branches wave clouds race grey white confusion bustled by the tumult of currents leaves will fall in shades of brown cold rain will wash them into earth. Old foundations are fracturing in the stone halls of speeches tired elders squabble and snipe old men’s prophesies they shout […]
Bridge Never Crossed
Standing above the flow That washes through history fields once filled with blood of victory still haunt the present Old routes meander as footsteps follow well trodden paths marching to rhetoric but here forgiveness lives in uncut meadows flowing in languid pools of gold reflections Outsiders see only the beauty of peace hear only wind […]
Stone
Sitting sitting on the stone wall resting on the construction of grey built with ancient fragments hewn sedimentation hardened by existence grasping to alkaline cracks of mortar bond green colony cushions of life clinging timeless species enduring the changing world waiting for the end when we return to stone. Ciaran Burke
Spiral Reflections
Texting against the monument waiting for the meeting Bells of the tram Saturday night belles orange glows and abundant flesh Hispanic cacaophony of multiple conversations and the word of God in a lazy Louth drawl souls to be saved from weekend sins summer reflections glinting on the spire and in the shadow of 1916 sheltering […]
Montane Persistence
Enduring the seasons light passes into dark submitting to winter elongation comfort of long nights Under blankets of crystals roots in rain soaked peat encouraged by vernal radiation seeking growth in the light Survival in the exposure winds fed by Atlantic rage rains like hell from heavens twisted existence resolute Insignificant beside the trail that […]
The Evening That I missed The Train
Parallel, lines run for ever glinting the setting sun tracks crossing destiny humming with my anticipation Adrenaline rises to my ears the lines of metal sizzle vibrations of my doom my release they resonate Steeled by the cold wind from the sea that urges me the rails start to cheer inviting me to the end […]
When Gold Fades To Brown
In golden flashes we see beauty the rich veneer beguiles the eye a platter of glinting opulence bright light draws us to observe disturbance ripples the surface each expanding arc of liquid dance is a seduction that we cannot resist tension of the surface mirrors fantasy even when the clouds dim illumination and gold turns […]
Digital Display
Time in digital displays summer outside the door two zeros of luminance bright spots on the dark countdown to an end times slow rotation imperceptible movements dragging the day to close branded by the light my loneliness is taunted by the possibility beyond that closed doors exclude as the wait for visitation continues as interminable […]
We Submit
We sail on seas of inconsequence living on islands of irrelevance under a siege of stupidity showered with banality deep in our minds sleeps the source of the individual dormant in the bright light of entertainment and distraction unseeking drifting with the current numbed to submission life rafts for the unliving floating in the media […]
I Believe…
No faith, I walk my path no devils no angels shoulders unburdened after life I can wait to see no need to believe the word speak sentences of love not on knees but standing tall with actions and deeds Unbeliever, beliefs create Gods believers demonise seeking heaven for the dead making hell for the living […]
Monochrome
Today I painted my hours with shades of greya palette of monotone between black and whitebrush strokes on the textured canvas felt but unseenreflecting invisible colours of a blind illuminationCreations from my inner world where grey cellsdictate the course of my direction towards the darkblack pigment gives presence to the empty page covering the blank day […]
Adjectival Living
I woke up to see the most stunning sunrise my best partner in the world was looking amazing as I was so thankful for a wonderful breakfast I was stunned by the beauty of the flower in my garden horrified by a piece of litter unpicked by a negligent council on the train I was […]
4.45 am
Am I alive? lying at the edge of darkness awaiting the slow death of night that surrenders to the rebirth of day feeling the involuntary rise of my diaphragm filling with gases of life contracting to expel the unwanted my ear pressed against Egyptian cotton my arrhythmic pulse amplified by my awareness as I await […]
Left Behind
A shadow looks over the mud unseen is the never dredged past trapping the empty vessels stranded captive to the low ebb of the present on the edge of the town that dreamed a future of floating on high seas no operatic tragedies or symphonic triumphs just the humdrum rise and fall of the tide […]
Last Bus
Through the sleeping suburbs reflections of the drunk couples of impassioned cocktails mixing alcohol and lust stirring with tongues entwined shaken by fevered touch homeward bound the unsuccessful the single the faithful bow their heads in screen light fearing interaction above the darkened tiles that protect the Netflix addicted the earth fails to hide the […]
Scar
We wear the scars hidden by modesty of cloth remnants of cuts beneath the threads and stitches we share the pain when we cast away the uniform explaining their origin bearing naked truth to the trusted reading their stories Braille beneath curious finger tips vulnerable revelations read by lips of softest caress unhealed by time […]
Strasse
Curtains quiver frail with golden light of a dormant city bowl cupped by hills of streets I awake with thoughts the midnight intersection connected forever turning point of two lives.One way street that we travelled now it divides to two remembered routes of return a map of new directions along streets that lead away there […]
Tryst
Bed clothes dishevelled and thrownthe evidence of a beautiful tryst stains of longing washed and the remainssouvenir strandsof hairs static attachment stranded timelingering of mutual attraction tired body marked proud badges secretly wornprepare for workfeel the gentle pain that smilesdreaming awakethe faint scent of rendezvous relive ecstasy to taste the pleasure of next time.Ciaran Burke
A spire
Spires reaching in bloom finding heaven in the light rooted in the deposits of earth fed by the detritus of the dead and once living returned to dark earth residues feeding life to inspire new growth seeking higher purpose while we dwell in remorse of our daily existence searching for the answers that hide in […]
Sinking Ship
The calmness of the surface hides turbulent crashes and falls high tidal wave of drunk emotions quiet destructive storm of actions we the vessel tossed on the deep sea between lost destinations of your life. Long sodden conversations repetitions of disappointment the hope of feeling special momentary illuminations of love left us lost and searching […]
Mute Walls
Spined brambles hang in the once windowed arch vine like pendulums swing with the breeze ticking off time in painless repetition measurement of past rendered redundant by years now is the dwelling abandoned to the present carpeted by autumns of decades to create fertile depth for new life under the roof of sky and cloud […]
Parallel Existence
Was that a moment or was it an unreality existing in a fading dream as the embrace of sleep released me to fall into the existence of now? The feeling of memory just out of reach a caller at the door that runs away missed calls of unknown number. Face in the crowd the knowing […]
Un sown
Seeds cannot growwhen stored in a drawerunnourished they remain oldviable potential slowly diesembryonic inspirationsthat never fall to fertile earthshrivel to dustnever to bea tree of life no bloom of beautydormant until their deaththe unsown never reapedwaiting for the reaper Ciaran Burke
Autumnal Lane
Metallic light of cloudy greycracked open the quiet laneuninhibited hedgerows encroachnarrow black road of soft edgesbejewelled with the last night’s rainarching brambles tempt the sentient with dark voluptuous promiseseach black fruit a conglomerateof unforbidden globes of juicethe gifts unpicked in the country lane.From the sky the peace is brokenbird song calls in the drone ofRyan Air […]
Path of Reflection Cracked
No way through the obstacle my path lost living in my mind a black flood of unknown depth misleading truths sequestered beneath a rippling grey reflection dressed in the illusion of reversal. Afraid to break the image wary of the consequence fear that my steps forward would drown me in unknown not knowing what lay […]
Inevitable Disaster
Where once I turned pages now my thumb slides and the stories swipe left and right tapped into existence each new image of inconsequence I stuff my mind with fast food home delivery through my eyes endorphin explosion of daily feed. Even as the one hundred and eighty eight grams of technology gets too heavy […]
Under The Palm Trees
Under the fan splayed leaves of Dublin City’s potted palm trees half blinded by the faint autumn sun dying to descend it’s winter death still strong enough to illuminate grey clouds with white fringes too weak to fight the shortening season surrendering the air to a winter chill I sit in the rumble of passing […]
Unbroken
Unbowedshaped by the worldveils of mistclouding the clarityshort sighted by the persistent cloudUnbrokenresistant the ill windsdetermined standknowing clouds disperseskies brightena beautiful world reveals.Ciaran Burke
Solution
Filled with the solutionthat is the sea of saltstinging open wounds cleansing with painbrought to the edgewaiting, for the over flow.Reflections of lifequivering with dreadshaken by the elements of forces uncontrolledpotential victim ofprimordial velocity, unseen.Flooded by sea of life the origin of beingcleansing the vestibule hail a new evolution microcosmic universecatharsis, set me free.Ciaran Burke
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Survival
Led by the light my form is twisted turns that seek outillumination from external sourcescompelled to followthe brightest radiancebending to the beam light dependant existence following at any coststretched and contorted slave to the sourcemy shade of shadowcast my offspringin darkness stunted their shrinking survival they shrivel and die or bend to survive.Ciaran Burke
I Walk
Today I walkedin the steps of a year agomoving across a plain through the pastfeet displacingdew droplets from bladesmemories cutdeep through the presentdark remnants personal pain oozing throughhealing woundswelts burying sanguine sadness.My treading left temporary black marks on thesilver patina covering the grazed greensad thoughts like shadows of the treesdark forms reaching far when light is low my movement walked away shadows of […]
Final Solution
Solution falling from the skiesacid reaction to liquid dilutionevaporated from river and searisen after fall on distant terrain.Solution falling from dark cloudwashing clean dirt dissolvingreason eroded denying changeto submerge the future with lies.Solutions make us run for coverdeluge making ocean of farmlanddrought devouring forest in flameswhile we drown in cause and blame.Ciaran Burke
No Visitors Allowed
Behind the locked doorshe answers no moretrapped between her silenceand the safe house rulesa desperate prison of refuge where no visitors are allowed.Live in fear of creating troublewarned not to break the rulesbrother hides under the tablesister walks and calls to the doortheir mother gives no response killed by the absence of hope.Opiate toxicity the clinical reportthe […]
Sit With Me
I thought I wished for a seat of solitude forever happy to be in introverted silenceto be comfortable alone in the nowherefinding solace at the epicenter of singular.I sat seeking liberation from the worlddistracted by conversation of the windcarrying happiness from a playgroundI felt lonely in the world of others’ sounds.How I wished you could share […]
Intolerance
Seated beside privilege overhearing bitter conversation as they drank skinny lattefrom an opulent overflowing cup. Handbags of one month’s rentlay nonchalant on the seatsdraped in designer coatspiled three generations deep.Conversational danger, rise of crimeprogress the dysfunction resulting in declinedigital fears imagined haunting suburbiaconfrontational talkshow broadcaster of dreadMuslims, immigrants, transgender feminists, coeliac and dairy freemust be tolerant of the intoleranceand their allergies, allergic to […]
Puzzle Piece
Post solstice sunlight low in my eyescombustion propulsion battering airturbulence the resistance breakinggoing south in the freezing sunrise.The quietest morning of good will wishesalmost alone of the motorway to reunionpassing others on the familial pilgrimagedead air radio of my mind broadcasts.Seasonal hits drone in the background ghosts of the season past and presencepresent fragmented gifts […]
Opus Dei
The days of the coat hangerand the shameful trip abroadsecret children hidden awaylaundries awash with Magdalene shame.Have respect for the old clergy because they are not all so badstrategic bishop making moveswelcome the new parish peadophile.Vatican sequestering carnal sinsas cardinals of privilege denyvictims lost on path to justiceinquiry of redacted nameless blame.Media highlights and public outrageno […]
Unseen
My form beneath hardened blackreticulate limbs joined in purpose stability in the pores of the earththe unseen strength of surviving. Storms rock and leave me nakedlimbs bend from invisible violence heard in the moaning of the wires whistling danger along the eves.Evidence of resistance breaks throughraised scars of the asphalt brokengrowing in the harshness of your worldthere is still […]
Spare Change
Sitting at the round table, two thousand and twelveWith a view of the gardens and a sunny morningSouthside company they’re smelling the rosesrecommending good food, restaurants in Ranelagh.Searching for the recession that can’t be foundno parking spaces near Gaviston’s or Avocamedia and bleeding heart stories, hungry childrenthe parents at fault too lazy to give them […]
Intrusion of Lawn Care on Isolation
Feeling the gentle heat of the stretching days adjusting to the seasonthe silver edge of the grey cloud a map of unchartered worldsthat move across our isolation while we fight the mental malaise. The high droning constant whirl and the odour of the fallen grassthe machinery of lawn care a reminder of the outside worldbeyond the […]
Distant Farewell
You were there when my screams were bornin your arms sating my hunger the milk of motherhoodfeeding with love cradled in boundless affectionas I cried you pulled me in, the heart of your protection.Through my years of wildness and in my self needlate nights of broken curfews and unanswered callsdisco light eyes Sunday lows that […]
The Two Kilometre Radius
Under the elderly limbs of the neglectedonce proud sentries lining thoroughfare their bent shapes overgrown with ivya guard once honoured lines our outbreak.Our daily jaunt on the dark surfacebeneath the blue expanse guardingthe heavens and cosmic unknownfootsteps our thunder break near silence.At the crossroads there is a storm of clay thrown up from the earthtillage clouds drifting […]
Cocoon
Looking in to the blue the dome of incarcerationthat seems at once to beinfinite and minuscule trapped into my limited viewfrom the cast iron chairsanded and repaintedon the power washed patiobeside the perfectly cut lawnpartially shadowed by treated fencebordered with hard trimmed shrubsthe tasks that once seemedInnumerable have become repetitious as I await regrowththat once again can be […]
My Arm
My arm wraps over a lifelifted with the deep inhalationquiet nasal rhythm drawing airexpelling carbon unwantedI embrace the rising and falling as the diaphragm involuntary moves to the irregular rhythm ofliving breaths expelled in sleep.My arm holds on to a dear lifethe warmth of living and breathingalive and kicking in dreamingspasmodic toe tapping my kneeand I breath […]
The Wet November
On waking I would stretchthen listen to clues while hopingin the curtained roomthe light blinded out for sleepingthere was a life outsidewind creaking white facia boardskamikaze rain drops dyingrelentless suicides of mass precipitation. Even a blanketed sky givesa sliver of ragged silver illuminationlight bending through crackstortured reflections on dulled wallspeephole tears and ill fittingslats of wood […]
Broken Earth
Seven weeks of hidingand the earth breaths relief…Seasons of stormsangered colour coded weatherbattered shores stonedshifting sands reappear disappearthe worst on recordthe likes never seen beforethe land too sodden then cracked and hardenedbaked crust crackingthe temperatures are rising.Harvest an immigrant toiland the natives are restlessno goals to celebrategasping for a social pintthe torture of comfortas we yearn […]
For All That Matters Equally
Ten thousand feet that carry ragefree expression on the first of Juneof all lives that matterand not just ours but theirsblack and white we are free to breathe.Divisible plagues of discriminationviral anger across the oceanup the road in Mosney direct provision of prejudiceit also matters but just not quite as much.Between the colours shades of greyright to protest to express our outrage responsibility ours balance of […]
Change In The Weather
Under the monotonous sky of contiguous greya quivering breeze brings shivers and shakesslow sigh of the shoulders an optimistic shrugkicking gravel to watch random stones dancethe grass turning green in post drought recoverygolden studs of floral butter shine with hopelife returning to the earth after the social drought unsure if to welcome the change in the […]
Change Is Hard
Change is hard, a truth carved in stone ordained by God and written with quill on scrolls and parchments centuries old commandments to follow and never ask one gender the fairer but treated unfairly spare rib creation from dirt and dust original parents we descend from incest love was never equal if it not prescribed. […]
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Mask
We wear our masks we nod we talk with our eyes to greet with hidden face no smile invisible words beneath the layers of fabric that hides the spread viral droplets of fear moist reality. Facial non-recognition the mask dressed for a hold up we shop we move incognisant unseen struggling to be heard muffled […]
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Ecclesiatical Arch
The arch frames the view defining the world a glimpse of a false reality illusory real life that is not fiction limited depth of field non-fiction narrow opinions trapped in scenery blinkered by the control compulsory catechism of cold stone cathedral wall never wonder beyond our sight nor wander beneath the leaves dare not follow […]
The Pit and the Pandemic
Old rings of summers past turn to ash the carbon captured in arboreal growth released in the nocturnal combustion. We sit, our present warmed by burning past the mercury falling in nightside dark huddling closer, warming at the burning pit. As the god of war glows in orange attire chasing the lunar movement across skies […]
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Transcendence of Fields
We had walked this road before smell of fresh turned earth grind of machines making furrows the brown fields freshly lined our daily rotation of the local roads within the radius of regulation safe distance from risk of infection R number noted daily cases tossing the terminology of epidimology we practiced new vocabulary. The Pandemic […]
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Walking in Circles
Waiting for eventual summer wishing long days into existence hoping for a vaccinated future praying for an immune population. To rub shoulders with strangers a crowded field listening to a band to hug an acquaintance like old friends drunk with delirium drinking in a pub to shake the hands of best friends brotherly greetings on […]
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Light and Dark
Afraid of the dark and longing for light dread lengthening days until solstice the seeking sons of daylight fading daughters of the morning subdued wishing away the evenings on the level waiting for the earth to rotate and turn. We dream of living in the light yearn for an imaginary diurnal eternity for years of […]
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Good Help
Say sorry… move on as you do when brushing shoulders with an accidental street stranger. Protect the flock do not scapegoat the shepherds crying holy wolf do not demand they part with the earthly rich and riches they were not the tail wagging a governmental sleeping dog let the sleeping dog LIE. No… they were […]
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Where Have All The Homeless Gone?
Where have all the homeless gone?Where have all the homeless gone? No one walks the streets at nightno more idling from pub to clubgroups of hens and stags extinctbirthday drunks have sobered upmatch day pints no longer drunkabandoned streets to viral fears. Where have all the homeless gone?Where have all the homeless gone? No late […]
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If, in times of Covid
If, you find yourself alone and adrift when all around you are swimming walking, running, dancing for charity as you float through days lost at sea.I If, you are lost on a wayward current as others swim with a confidence to the shores of self congratulation don’t let the jealous riptides carry you away. If, […]
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Of Loss
You walked walked out the door out of our lives of life of this earth this existence no longer existing walked to the other side. Leaving the questions the questioners questioning themselves your reason their own reasons blame searching for a mind to live in. You left left no evidence nothing evident nothing left your […]
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Selfish Act
This selfish act is not for me but for the ones that I leave I know they will question seeking logic from chaotic life but the time has come to end the life of non existence to bury the lost soul deep. Let fire turn to ash the corpse cremation to destroy remains ensuring that […]
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Life and Death
And now we lie in the silence listening with expectation ears pricked for the pin drop the sounds of hope yearning for the symphony of the city streets percussion of pedestrians composed by commuters friction of lives against asphalt but dead beats fill the silence the rise and fall of our existence oxygenating respiring fear […]
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You think you know someone
Would our parents still approve if I was poor if I quit my job of social standing became a gardener refused to be wed in a church stood my ground and refused to indoctrinate our son and daughter into their Catholic religion no communion rites confirming parties, wedding gowns no bride in white if they […]
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A Walk In The Garden
Walk in the gardenthe lonely rosedefies the seasonstenacious survival at the end of a naked branch of spines. Post COVID recoverypain is gonebut aches remainpersistent symptoms lazily lurking in the lethargy of the spine. New year prison cellawaiting confirmationsymptoms of positivitymind body and souls fall victim to the infections of negativity. Year ending sunlightreminds us […]
