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This is a poem of mine that was originally published in the wonderful Blackmail Press. I wrote it after a visit to Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. Joseph Plunkett, one of the Irish rebels who took part in the 1916 rebellion (or “Easter Rising”), was executed hours after marrying his sweetheart, Grace Gifford.
Easter Rising (Joseph Plunkett, 1916), by Janis Freegard
they blindfolded him
our guide explains
for the benefit of the soldiers
(six standing, six kneeling)
so they wouldn’t see his eyes
when they shot him –
a piece of white paper
marking his heart
the day before, he’d married
in Kilmainham Gaol –
the proposal’s on display
You will marry me and no-one else
he’d written to his Grace
I’ve been a blind fool
The Slattern
She hasn’t driven her vacuum cleaner around the rooms;
the dust sits thick.
Piled up dishes will be taken care of – soon.
Hillocks of washing swell and lie in ambush;
windows are opaque with grime;
the fridge’s fruiting moulds are eager to be let loose.
Newspaper castles yellow in the sunny afternoons;
the bottle stack threatens;
a compost bucket barely contains its ooze.
the bottle stack threatens;
a compost bucket barely contains its ooze.
Blue emerges from an ancient plastic tube
atop a slimy sink.
The slattern sings. Loudly and out of tune.
atop a slimy sink.
The slattern sings. Loudly and out of tune.
Image via Wikipedia
This is one of mine, originally published in Blackmail Press – the 36 inch bust issue.
You can access the other Tuesday poems by clicking on the quill to the left.
What do the above have in common, I hear you cry? Well, they are all journals which have published my work over the past month and a bit.
The Rebel Issue of Blackmail Press is available online here http://blackmailpress.com/Index25.html It will be launched in Wellington on Weds 16 September at 7:30 pm upstairs at the Thistle Inn. I have a couple of poems in the issue and will be reading them on the night, along with many other fine poets. (that is to say, I won’t be reading the fine poets; they will be reading their own work)
While I was overseas in August (Iceland and England, photos to come), three of my short stories were published in NZ journals: Bravado http://www.bravado.co.nz/PressReleaseBravado16.html Takahe http://www.takahe.org.nz/index.php and Viola Beadleton’s Compendium http://www.wellingtonwriters.com/violablog/
I was also pleased to hear that another story was “honourably mentioned” in the Momaya Press competition and will be published later this year.
In further poetry news, don’t forget tomorrow’s fundraiser at Paekakariki for the victims of the Princess Ashika Ferry Disaster in Tonga. Karlo Mila, Apirana Taylor, David Geary, Glenn Colquhoun and Te Roopu Kapa Haka o Paekakariki will perform. Starts at 2pm in the Paekakariki Memorial Hall, 98 The Parade, Paekakariki, Kapiti Coast.
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