Small Hours
An owly night
with a curl of moon like ginger-peel.
At the cottage near the river’s source
I stick my head out:
the sky has shaken itself clear with cold.
The old puzzle covers the ceiling above the thatch,
dizzy with stars nodding their heads
and saying: it is what you think it is.
It’s over. It won’t finish.
Go back to bed.
Poetry Ireland Review Issue 117:
Issue 117 includes new poems from over twenty five poets from Ireland, the UK, the US and elsewhere, along with three new poems by Michael Longley, one of the UK’s foremost contemporary poets. The issue features reviews of more than twenty new poetry collections, including books by Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Claudia Rankine, Louise Gluck, Eavan Boland, Dennis O’Driscoll and Dermot Healy. Interviews include a feature on photographer, Seamus Murphy, about collaborating with musician and poet PJ Harvey and poet Eliza Griswold on separate publications, as well as an interview with Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis by Colette Bryce. Colour plates include photography by Seamus Murphy and artwork by Niamh Flanagan.