Poem of the Week

SHORE LEAVE

the sea louder in the dark

throwing off its shackles

walking into town

mystified seagulls

flying over with a caw

a sea no longer there

a tram screeching

on its points

the sea jumps aboard

the sea sat at the bar

somehow getting its vast bulk

perched upon a high stool

the sea enjoying the karaoke

singing along to The Honeydippers

eating bag after bag of peanuts

"Have ye no beds to go home to!"

barks a barman

his belly slopping over his belt

the sea happy

to escape itself

even for the time being

drunk on being

human if only for a while

the sea staggers back to the shore

By Donall Dempsey

Biography : Dempsey was born in the Curragh of Kildare, Ireland, and was Ireland’s first Poet in Residence in a secondary school. He has read on Irish radio and appeared on TV there. He moved to London in 1986 and has continued to write and perform his poetry ever since. He is well known for his dynamic delivery when reading, his surreal imagery and his tenderness, a poet in love with the world.

He has a strong presence online, and publishes a poem every day on Facebook, Twitter and in online groups. In pre-covid days, he was to be found at poetry festivals in France, New Delhi, Ireland, the Edinburgh Free Fringe, Cheltenham and Swindon, among others.

Dónall’s poetry has been published in numerous magazines, anthologies and journals, both online and in print. He has published five collections, Sifting Shape into Sound, Being Dragged Across the Carpet by the Cat, The Smell of Purple in 2013, and Gerry Sweeney’s Mammy, and Crawling Out and Falling Up, the fifth, which was published in November 2020.