Poem of the Week

Early Release by James Whyte The house sat where it always had  on the hill at the end of the lane.  Your father carried your bag from the boot to the back door as if you were a child again. It was March and a blackbird…

She Was Lightning by Aisling Twomey It was years before I learned  that the lightning comes  before the thunder. First a charge, a flash, a strike that  splits the sky,  demanding attention.  The thunder follows;  a mournful growl …

Before Staying after Brendan Kennelly by Vinny Glynn-Steed Speak to me of that night of troubled oarsmen, how we found  our lineage in timber’s forlorn form  a slanted, broken mast; a forgotten import from Golgotha.  Speak also of…

Crocodiles at Siem Reap by Patrick Deeley They wait beyond the tourist tickets you queue to purchase; beyond the ‘Help  Preserve Wild Animals’ sign,  the shop selling leather accessories  where display models of their kind  stand on…

Elsewhere by Jeremy Haworth Storm-coked waters, Rain-stitched earth, wind cold as the swipe of a feathered hook peeling the iron of trawlers junked in a bath of silt. One a hoop of ribs, another a cringe of rust. …

VALOUR IN DARKNESS by Hibah Shabkhez As ebony concedes star after star To the bruising mist from the east We cackle and rise. Smiles of triumph after our secret war Light up the suffused heaving breast Of morn-stirred skies…

Vacating by Kevin Higgins   Tomorrow we vacate the House of Hope, pack what-was-to-have-been in the brown cardboard boxes we retain from our previous exile. Once we’re safely gone, the plain kitchen table at which we plotted each…

THE ART OF CIRCLES by John Grey He taught me how to draw by starting everything with circles. To him, the world was built on roundness. As long as the ends join, he'd say, then everything's complete. The circle's much older…

Poetry submissions for our Poem of the Week series are now closed. Check back again soon for our next submission window. Contributing Articles We accept submissions of articles/ reviews on an ongoing basis. If you would like to contribute…

Voices By Máire Morrissey After the storm there is a stillness, it descends like a soft drizzle to bless the morning. Down by the cove, the gulls gather  to bathe in rain filled rock pools. Great mounds of seaweed cloak the…