by Cormac Culkeen
Inquiring knocks still him
like a mouse in open grass
beneath a hawk’s shadow
shifting on thermals,
where cold lamp light
gathers night damp rooms,
growing dust into
his daily path.
Curtains latch lying windows,
folds of drawing fabric swing
watching aged moments
pass into never,
floormap layers of newspaper,
accretions marking past’s mould,
where brief conceit
did immerse worlds.
Slowly, another knock moves him
through his curt, ancient trail,
his listening chair,
his mumbling radio,
where infinity becomes a stifle
of small gestures glimpsed unseen,
a stained mug,
a kettle’s hiss.
Rheumy squints through glasses
bring him a sleeved arm,
some tuneless whistling
stills his pulse
movement muted to breath
seeing quieter figures shrink,
rain strums upon
fading steps.
Shadows melt in the panes
shuffle from its rivet gaze.
Recognising a stasis,
spokes of sunlight
drop through curtain depths,
seeds of light’s silence
angling for pause,
touch his hands.
Cormac Culkeen is a writer of poetry, fiction, short stories and nonfiction. He lives in Galway, Ireland, and has completed an MA in Writing at the University of Galway, after completing a BA in Creative Writing. His poetry has been published in Skylight 47, The Wild Word, Causeway, Apricot Press, Bindweed, Ropes Literary Journal and The Honest Ulsterman. His debut poetry collection, The Boy with the Radio, was recently published by Beir Bua Press in 2022.