poetry

Fictionalise By Yu-Hsuan Wu Reality rises one gesture fictionalises one silver thread behind the clouds A dreamer passing by looks through the implication of the cloud thread he says: we bridge the…

Social Boats, Sinking By Maeve McKenna I am screened, polished, mimicked by dumb  mouths in artificial mirrors, talking back. The scent of my body, its pungent genetics, lingers on thin bandages of light…

The Abolition of What's Next By Kevin Higgins It is ten to whenever  and must remain so. The living room door will remain ajar at exactly that angle. The cat will forever have just opened…

Bioluminescence By Clare Mulvany The waves of West Cork are dancing with light.  They hide under the canopy of darkness,  growing in their secret.  In this lake: liquid lore.  In these waters: tincture of stars. …

Dancing with Lyme By Cathy Donelan It took the life out of me. Cold sweats with a shiver of something new –  a ‘ningle’, if that’s even a word. It doesn’t sit right on the flat of my tongue but I can feel it in my…

Three Irish Mothers of the 1950s By Amy Egan Sometimes I think about the moment my grandmother, married late and unexpectant, told Grandad, grower of trees but indifferent to fruit, (he’d upped, then rooted deep for…

She's the woman of the moment: after a sequence of acclaimed and award-winning poetry collections in both Irish and English, Clare poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa has delivered a sensational non-fiction book, "A Ghost In The Throat", nominated…

Regalement By Aoife Finnegan New plant in the sunroom, small bird floating outside the kitchen window. I was there that night- wasn’t I? Many nights (I was there), many moons ago. New mark on my face,…

Exploring the Cosmos Keep on Spinning is the debut chapbook from Scottish writer and poet Jen Hughes. Hughes studies at the University of Glasgow where a course entitled 'Exploring the Cosmos' provided inspiration. Hughes utilises…

Recipe By Steve Cullen Break 4 metaphors into a green enamelware bowl and mix vigorously with the tarnished fork that lies with the spoons in the cutlery drawer. Add symbolism, and the zest of a childhood memory. Drop a knob of…