Inside a walled community garden
he sits on wrought iron at the edge of green
foot like a bellows, in time to fiddles, accordions. Silent,
he nods and listens to the sing song of the other old men.
The musicians circulate, chat about home, the virus
promise to play Galway Bay, Spancil Hill…
He has no request and no fear of the virus
he tells the willowy violinist, though he fears, never again going home.
She bows and pierces the strings – the slow air of The Coolin.
Eyes close in Willesden Green to his home in Annaholty.
…………
Marie Studer, Co. Limerick was a winner in the Halloween Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge, Bangor Literary Journal 2019, shortlisted in the North West Words Poetry Competition 2020 and in the Kanturk Arts Festival, Flash Fiction 2020. Her poetry has been published in Visual Verse, Pendemic, various anthologies and forthcoming in The Stony Thursday Book.