Castletroy Words

  A year has gone, and the turmoil remains   That white penthouse, and the hope you smashed—   Shattered dreams that were never reality,   Yet you scattered them with impunity.   I wake sometimes thinking I’m there,   That you’ll soon be around.   I wake again—you're gone forever,   And my bed is the cold, hard ground.   I never stop thinking: Why? Why me?   But all I hear is silence, and your denial.   You broke my back, tore my hope away,   And left nothing of me, day after day.   You emptied my hope, my heart, my life,   And ran off with the lot.   And now what is left—what have I got?   We’ve got your number: 198. And again: A year’s gone.   The turmoil still gnaws.   That white penthouse—   hope in shards.   Dreams that were never real,   but you threw them anyway,   lik...

  Lanzarote It’s not hard to see why they hate the tourists here— The show-offs, the painted women on the arms of men who bought their names in bricks and sea views, the louts, slurring through nights on streets they’ll never care to know. They come for the name. To say  Lanzarote  like a trophy over tapas they butcher in English. To tag a sunset, to prove they were here. To wear the island like a hat they’ll toss aside. Yes— it’s beautiful. But it’s more than an alcohol destination. It’s home. Not a backdrop. Not your budget Eden. You’re tolerated— your laughter swallowed, your presence smiled at for pay. But they don’t love you. They remember the island before you filmed it. They live here still after you’ve gone.

I'm so happy to finally be publishing L7 Blue on here. Formerly 'It's not you I look for'. L7 Blue has come out nicely.  L7 Blue tells the story of when JM became the central figure in my life in Limerick, and the many lessons learned. I hope you enjoy the poem. I don't look for him really, but I remember. I remember when I'm eating rice crackers and salad with 198 Champagne (Apple and Elderflower sparkling water) and I remember and hope he's okay. I remember JM and his unconditional kindness that was an antidote to the man who left me on the streets of Limerick. Here's L7 Blue.  L7 Blue (formerly "It’s Not You I Look For") It’s not you I look for when I walk down O’Connell in the rain, It’s not your face in the crowd I seek again and again, Down at the boardwalk it’s not you I watch for, although the memory is there, Shannon and the lights sparkle but it’s not about you — you’re not there. I don’t go looking for you at the Salmon Leap, It’s no...