Early in the morning, I pad to the bathroom, wash my hands
in sky blue, anti-bacterial, gel. The scent lingers in the gnarl
of my knuckles. I go back to bed, try to rhyme the poppy red
of the room with the yellow ball of sun behind the red curtain.
I take up a pastel crayon to contrast day and night
Tinkle ivory notes, black and white. Arthritic
fingers stroke ugly chimes on misplaced keys. Tired, I cross
words, cheat 5 down with a Guardian, but who’s to know?
I portrait a gentle facsimile of self, calm, content
On the far side of the glass, a stark, ridged scream
of clashing colour, plumes and spreads
bobbing in the bruised pink and blue of virus cells.
……….
Kate Ennals is a prize-winning poet and writer and has published poems and short stories in a range of literary and on-line journals (Crannog, Skylight 47, Honest Ulsterman, The Moth, Anomaly, Bangor Literary Journal, Boyne Berries, North West Words, The Blue Nib, Dodging the Rain, The Ogham Stone, plus). Her first collection of poetry At The Edge was published in 2015. Her second collection, Threads, was published in April 2018. She has lived in Ireland for 25 years and runs poetry and writing workshops in County Cavan. Kate also runs At The Edge, Cavan, a literary reading evening, funded by the Cavan Arts Office. Before doing an MA in Writing at NUI Galway in 2012, Kate worked in UK local government and the Irish community sector for thirty years, supporting local groups to engage in local projects and initiatives. Her blog can be found here.
A absolutely beautiful