Human Sculpture
As he sat on the summer seat
in snow, in the middle of Belfast
I knew he was real.
Children tugged at his hair
pulled at his white cheeks,
fiddled with his ears.
I sat beside him,
touched him with reverence
through a hole in his flimsy jeans,
felt not underwear but cold skin.
I offered him a ‘Fisherman’s Friend.’
We both sucked the lozenges
as sleet blew horizontal across our faces.
Poetry Ireland Review Issue 124:
Poetry Ireland Review 124 contains new poems from Paula Meehan, Ciarán O'Rourke, Lizzy Nichols, Mark Ward, Gabriel Rosenstock, Özgecan Kesici, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, and many other compelling voices. Also included is Eilean Ni Chuilleanáin's remembrance of her Cork childhood, excerpted from The Vibrant House: Irish Writing and Domestic Space, a book of essays reviewed in issue 124 by Caitríona O'Reilly. Other books considered in this issue include collections from Annemarie Ní Churreáin, Mark Granier, Tara Bergin, The Cambridge Companion to Irish Poets, and the Collected Poems of the late Dennis O'Driscoll, and there's also a short interview with Thomas Kinsella along with an essay on Kinsella as poet and civil servant. Another Kinsella is this issue’s Featured Poet, Alice Kinsella, and all artwork for the issue is supplied by artists associated with the Olivier Cornet Gallery on Great Denmark Street, around the corner from Poetry Ireland.
Available now to purchase online or in all good bookstores.