Threads of Silence

Threads of Silence

Darkness,

An empty house,

I dream the past

into a deep sleep,

On awakening

My subconscious mind

Relive the sounds

of the family home.

Banging doors,

Toilet flushing,

Radio blaring,

Footsteps everywhere.

Voices shouting

Hurry up with the bathroom,

Did you see my keys,

Hurry, the school bus is here,

These once familiar sounds

Now replaced by

Threads of silence.

A streak of light

Breaks through a half closed blind

Another day begins.

Blocking the silence

With everlasting memories

I watch the clock ticking away the hours.

I listen to the sounds of nature.

The husky voice of a woodpigeon coo’s

Tirelessly from the remains of a

dislodged tree house,

The rumbling noise of a plane

fades away in the distance,

The Jackdaws fighting in the chimney pot,

The continuous barking of a neighbours dog.

No banging doors

No voices from the kitchen.

Alone with the sound of memories.

Seven o’clock news,

The sun is shining

Eliminating the silence,

Nora Fleming, 14^th June, 2010

Wicklow Writers 10th Anniversary

The Wicklow Writers are celebrating 10 years of writing with the publication of an anthology. All past members are invited to join current members in this anniversary collection of poetry and prose. A mighty celebration of our achievements will be held in mid 2011.

If you have ever been a Wicklow Writer then send your piece for consideration to wicklowwriters@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Winners of Space Inside Poetry Contest

Martin Swords chair of Wicklow Writers announced the winners of our 2010 poetry contest to a packed Space Inside Live Night.
Commenting on the high standard of the entries and imaginative use of the phrase 'space inside', Martin began by recounting various lines from poems which he felt were particularly worthly of mention.
Drum roll . . .The winner of the Space Inside Poetry Contest 2010 isJane Clarke from Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow with her poem Anniversary

Anniversary

He's alive in our house;
his books talk to ours on the shelves.

His photograph above the piano,
violin tucked under his chin.

You play the pieces he arranged,
quote his sayings and stories,

read his fountain-penned notebook
of favourite poems, Yeats, Frost

and Verlaine, for what they tell
about the space inside him.
I see you running to keep up

as he wallks Three Rock Mountain,
insisting you listen to what he has learned

about Satre and Tielhard de Chardin.
Today I dig compost into the tired clay,

plant heathers and snowdrops on his grave.
You watch and muse how it might have been
had he lived past your teens.


Our second winner is Edward Ryan of Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow with The Space Inside

The Space Inside
For each of us a 'space inside'
Where our loving feelings bide
Some mystery too, the strangest thing
It grows the more with emptying.

The worthy winners were presented with their prize hampers on the night by Carol Boland - chairperson of Space Inside, who went on to thank everyone who entered into the spirit of the Space Inside's first poetry contest.

A Poet's Garden

A poet’s garden

They come bearing gifts

homespun

apple pie

brown bread

bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon

clippings from manicured gardens

friendly cleaning products

Roger McGough’s life story.

Most of all

they come

bearing poems.

White stick in hand,

like reformed smokers,

they chalk up lines

on blue roof tiles

sunk in sand

behind clumps

of granite rocks

and meadow grass

that quiver in the

low

warm

breath

of a summer’s night.

I picture their white words

before rain

wipes the slate

clean.

Carol Boland

Slate Poems

Here are some of the poems written on slates in a Wexford garden. Now washed away by the rain

Wicklow Writers in the sun

Here are some of the Wicklow Writers enjoying the end of season party

End of Season Party

Wicklow Writers recently held their end of season party in a garden in Hollyfort, Co. Wexford.

Compromising pictures and poems written in chalk on slates in the Poet's Garden will be on view here shortly!

Poetry Comp

The Space Inside are running their first poetry competition, which is open to all ages, shapes and sizes. All you have to do is write a poem inspired by the words ‘the space inside’. The poem can be about anything from the space inside your head, to the space inside a box. Let your imagination go wild!

The winner will receive a hamper crammed with lots of chocolate, wine and other goodies. The runner-up will receive a smaller hamper crammed with just as delicious goodies. Both poems will be published in the Space Inside journal and on our blog.

Keep those creative juices working during the summer months and help us raise funds for our next Space Inside season.

Send your entries with fee of €5, which covers a max of three poems (max 30 lines each) to:

Anne Graham, The Space Inside, 1 Rocky Road, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow.

Deadline: Friday 10^thSeptember 2010

One Finger Up Greeting

One Finger Up Greeting

One finger raised

greeting driver to driver, as I

drive the quiet country

roads round Annamoe.

A man thing it seems to me

says “I see you” and also

“I see you seeing me” in reply.

Women seem to prefer the wave

suggesting friendship and knowing.

But for men one finger seeing is

fine, even with strangers

Why does this gesture come again

to mind lying here in a formula hotel

in Portlaoise?

Unlike quiet Tiglin,

N7 trucks run busy through the night.

Find a scrap of paper,

use a bookies’ pencil, write this

leaning on District and Circle.

Searched the drawer for letterhead

and a Gideon for support, but

no Bible,

only a Golden Pages

in case you’d want to buy rather than pray,

in the wee small hours

The One Finger Up Greeting

on my mind, took me home,

like a prayer, a thought.

Martin Swords

May 2010

Portlaoise

Wicklow Writers at Wicklow Arts Festival2010

Members of Wicklow Writers, Friends, and Visitors at the Cosmic Poetry Readings, held in the Cosmic Garden, as part of Wicklow Arts Festival 2010

Wicklow Arts Festival Poetry Events

COSMIC POETRY

A community poetry event in a garden setting

Wicklow Writers bring their poetry and invite you to bring yours ( in words or music ) to the Cosmic Garden.....plus enjoy an elevenses cuppa before blast off....and hey, bring a cosy cushion for the trip!

Date : Sunday 30th May

Time : 11am

Where : Cosmic Garden, An Tairseach Ecology Centre, Dominican Convent

Admission : FREE

Any musicians out there would be most welcome at this event.

In association with Wicklow Writers Group wicklowwriters.blogsot.com & An Tairseach Ecology Centre

POETRY FOR ALL with Nell Regan

Bridge the generational gap and team up with someone from another age group for a joint adventure in creativity !

Date : Saturday 29th May

Time : 12pm

Where : An Tairseach Ecology Centre, Dominican Convent, Wicklow Town

Admission : FREE Places limited, phone 087 6537454 for info or to book a place

Have you ever fancied writing but didn't know where to start? Do you work away but just need an infusion of energy? Or maybe you just have an hour to spare on Saturday!

Either way, come along to this multigenerational writing workshop with award winning poet and experienced teacher Nell Regan. So, come old, come young. Grannies- grab your grandchild, Aunties- nudge your niece....you get the idea. BRING ALONG AN OBJECT FROM YOUR HOME OR GARDEN AND ALL WILL BE REVEALED!

Looking Back

after Patrick Kavanagh.



On College Street in September
I saw him standing there
At a bus stop waiting
Destination – I know not where
I stood, I stared, what should I do?
We were once a pair
Although ours was a brief affair.

In duffle coat and baggy pants
A rucksack on his back
Dishevelled and alone
And I had shared his past.
The lines and rhymes we wrote
I have them still
I asked have I a duty to fulfil?

Crowds walked by unknowing
Autumn leaves rustled past my feet
The railings kept me anchored
Unable to proceed.

A long pause, and then
Love’s altered in those hours and weeks
I’m through with heartache
Walking on,
I turned to look
But he was gone.



Eithne Wright 14/12/’09

Me!

ME!



When I am me,
as only me can be,
I will see,
truth-filled reality.

When I’m not me,
and pretence fills my place,
Then I am blinded
by false reality.

To see,
or not to see
would seem to rest with me.
Pray I be free,
to face reality,
and me!



Cáit Breathnach