Poem 1
The Last Thing I Saw on T.V Last Night –
was a report on the news
a line of men curled
round the corner
of a building
in California
not queuing
for toilet rolls
or bread
or milk
but guns
and I cannot stop supposing
Poem 2
Me, I (St. Patrick’s Day 2020)
Self-quarantine
is a me-sized beanbag
thrust into my arms.
Its contours shift –
become different
as I shift – even a little bit.
Though I’m glad
we’re not out in the rain,
or at a parade, I
still grapple,
feel beads tumble
and splay
picture millions
of miniscule snowballs
an avalanche contained.
…………………….
Bern Butler is a Galway based writer and educator. Her work has been published in ‘Force 10,’ ‘The Grey Castle,’ Ropes Anthology, The Galway Review and Vox Galvia. She holds an MA in Writing (NUIG), has been a featured reader in Galway’s Over the Edge Library Readings.