The Enemy
Afraid, bewildered
Gathering her children round
While the mob spits and snarls
Packing up a few belongings
Knowing the rest will be pilfered
Or trashed
Put out by the neighbours
In Belfast, in Bosnia, in Beirut
Whom she lived amongst
Was friends to
Chatted to
Passed time in the street with
Joked with
Taigs Out
Moslem Scum
Christian Blasphemers
Words daubed on the walls
Faces contorted with hate
And fear
Well-meaning people, decent people
Just seeking out the enemy
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.