Three Poems by Tony Curtis, a Dubliner!

I had the pleasure of reading a scene from my novel with Tony Curtis. He is such a generous man and gave us not only a reading from his several poetry collections but also entertained the OOTA writers (Fremantle) with his guitar compositions, talks about his family, his working life and all with a wonderful Irish sense of humour.

What a wonderful poet and generous man!

When Sometimes all I can Imagine are Hands
 
There is a winter within me,
a place so cold, so covered in snow,
I rarely go there. But sometimes,
when all I can imagine are hands,
when trees in the forest
look like they’re made of wood,
then I know it’s time
to take my photograph of Akhmatova
and sling it in a bag with socks and scarves.
My neighbours must think it strange
to see me strapping on my snowshoes,
to hear me roar at the huskies
as I untangle the harness.
But when all you can imagine are hands
it’s best to give a little wave
and move out into the whiteness. 

http://www.tonycurtisirishpoet.com/well_in_the_rain.html

 

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Friendship

Friendship
            There are names for what binds us - Jane Hirshfield       

There are days that bind us.

We meet as one, but are many.

When we started out we were younger.

Our nails were stronger, our hair

fell down and dovetailed in to curves

matching a lighter weight.

The way a younger self holds firmer flesh,

small triumphs for tanned skin

baked proudly in the sun.

 

There's a name for the battle scars

doctors burn them from our skin

and as we age, gravity's the fear.

When seven women

meet in friendship over years

there may be wounds, a partner gone,

something proud inside one's chest.

But between us all there's only
the strength we have and we give it.
Then it asks more, and we give it.

4th Draft  Copyright (c) 2015
Lunch with good friends today. It's a ritual to swap gifts, eat wonderful food and talk for five hours. Many thanks to our host Linda.

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