Hataí

Louis de Paor
          Hold on to me and we’ll both drown
                 – John Berryman
 
ar thugais fé ndeara
gléas a gcuid gruaige,
leicne is ingní daite,
     súile lasta
ar aon dath is gearradh
leis na héadaí nua geala,
áthas ag sileadh leo 
ó rinn go sáil: 
 
na mná meánaosta 
atá ar tí a leanaí 
is a bhfearaibh 
a fhágaint 
iata suas 
i mbarr an tí 
mar a bhfuaireadar 
pé ní a bhí uathu
ar feadh na mblian
ná raibh a fhios acu féin
cad é nó go bhfuaireadar é?
 
níor thug, arsa tú 
go tur, ag imeacht 
an doras amach
cumhracht uait
a chuirfeadh 
adharc ar nóinín,
hata vintage anuas 
ar leathshúil ghlas 
a bhfuil doimhneas 
na mara fós inti:
 
fothraigh bád 
is fear, mná 
ag gol gan stop, 
buachaill amháin
ag dul faoi 
arís is arís eile 
ded bhuíochas:
 
ba dhóbair dó
bá ionat tráth
Page 118, Poetry Ireland Review Issue 120
Issue 120

Poetry Ireland Review Issue 120:

Edited by Vona Groarke

Vona Groarke's final issue as editor is packed with new poems from leading contemporary poets, including Simon Armitage, Sinéad Morrissey, Colette Bryce, Paul Muldoon, Sean O'Brien and Caitríona O'Reilly. Books reviewed include new work from Derek Mahon, Bernard O'Donoghue, Rita Ann Higgins, Martina Evans, Denise Riley and the 2016 Forward Prize winner Vahni Capildeo. The centrepiece of the issue is an interview with Paul Muldoon in which the Armagh maestro shares his thoughts on subjects as diverse as public surveillance, the economic down-turn, and the exclamation mark. The cover image is by photographer Justyna Kielbowicz, and the issue also contains award-winning artwork from Sven Sandberg, Aoife Dunne, Jane Rainey, and Michelle Hall. Instead of an editorial, Vona herself answers the questionnaire she put to the contributors of Poetry Ireland Review Issue 118: The Rising Generation.