Rather thrilled that a poem of mine is included in this anthology, published by Dedalus (eds. Eugene O’Connell and Pat Boran) which features a hundred Irish poets, each with a touchstone poem and a commentary. The Cork launch of the anthology is on the 19th April, at the Cork City Library, at 7pm.
The poem I chose as my touchstone poem (in slightly different form) is:
Do not lie to a lover
but on the other hand, do not
always tell the whole truth.
Sometimes your secrets will feel
like a fire inside your brain,
silently burning,
but they should be revealed
only when required,
like a cat’s eye necklace
on a road’s dark skin.
Disclosure exposes,
creates a stalking fear,
like that of the grasshopper
who sang all summer
and now faces winter
without provisions,
as the wind whoops and fleers
and sleet skitters over
the whitening ground.
For the commentary, you’ll have to buy the book!