drunk butterfly

sometimes butterflies get tipsy

Category: before

Ranelagh Road

you are my confetti of cherry blossoms
scattered about the pavement
adored and singularly delightful.
thoughts of you explode
during spring afternoons
like piñatas floating through the sky, wrapped in their papier-mâché of
hot air balloons filled with sprinkles.
you arrive on a saturday, tanned and beautiful
for my birthday
filled with wishes and wine
company, conversation
and kisses.

Salavas, Summer 2009

and there you stood before me
in that field
i felt the warmth of the night
through your fingertips

the grandeur of the fire lit sky
seemed to fly its colours over the hills
like a striped kite
as we watched it
mend and sew the stars slowly
with its movement
the stars-
so glorious!
like sprinkled powdered sugar
delicious
belonging only to us
a celebration of spirits

the adventure looked endless
in awe of the possibility that neither of us
would let it end

you wrapped your body
into the armchair that was me
and relaxed your head
upon my breast
i knew i would love you forever.

Untitled, 2006

You unrolled me

Like that old blanket

Nestled in your closet

Collecting dust.

Peeling layer upon layer

Pulling me apart

Raw—

Twisted

My soul that I swallowed

Ages ago, resting in

Your eyes

Of granite,

Calm.

Like sitting on a park bench

Sleepy

In that Saint’s Green

Where the diamond freckles

Of your eyes sparkle, and

Invite me to love again.

Dublin in Spring

Wind me up
Like a vine
Around you close.
Weave your limbs through me
And turn the sky a Technicolor grey.
Fill me with your milkshake–
So blue.
Sink like syrup into our gate
Break the lock, let no one in–
Climb into us
Our flat so warm
Our future now here
Our plans realized.

Buenos Aires, Christmas 2007

Recovery feels like purging myself from an

Endless black sea.

Noon arrived

With my head above the tide

Breathing effortlessly;

Absent of any memory of you.

The light looked different this day

In Plaza Dorrego.

Trees seemed to sway –

Delicately

While the promise of

Self doubt: Abolished –

Due to your absence

Seemed exhilarating!

You –

A tragedy no more,

Us –

Completely meaningless

In my autobiography.

How contemporary freedom feels.

The Other Woman

 

The other woman in your life has a sinister sense of humour.
Sometimes I lie awake at night and catch a glimpse of her making love to you as I sleep.
I travel to the other side of bed
Feeling sick that I can’t make you sweat like her. Your expression, dreamy and light
While I silently cry to an untitled track
That spells the story of my life…
The moonlight drips in.
How come I never heard this tune before?
I turn to wake you, yet you are cold and weak.
You–who think you, are stronger than I.
And I await you with a soaked towel for your head
and a kiss for a swollen tongue.

Love Today


Love today
wait —
maybe tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s here —
then another gone
then
Love!
Yesterday…
yesterday’s Love,
far away
away from today
of all days
when I need it most.
Maybe tonight?
Tonight is gone —
as is my Love;
yesterday’s Love
so out of reach!
Trying to remember when
yesterday’s Love was
tomorrow’s…
If i could get back to
tomorrow
will i get my Love back?
Would tomorrow’s Love
from yesterday’s
be today’s?
Wait…
And then i wait —
and yet again wait.
And try to remember
to Love today –
catch Love today,
keep Love today,
hold Love today,
live Love today,
hope there is Love today!
That it doesn’t get lost
in yesterday
or in anticipation of tomorrow.
Wait…

Red Tulip


A single red tulip
Beckoning me from plastic shelves
Bargained with me for my future
So I shelved out the cash.
Words dripped from my quill like fire
The streams resembled tears I had offered
In so many places
Unnoticed by you.
Arriving at the tower of Tales —
In a garden of Great
I met you at the gate.
Unchanged by your reaction,
Encouraged that you took the card
I hurried to take my seat like the Greeks
Unnerved by the bottle of bubbly apparent for the celebration I would take no part in —
So I stole my friend in the rain
And took a blue train home.
Only months later would I find strength to leave
When I found that card
Halved in your box
The writing now hidden
And the boy smiling forward, sharing the flower
You intended
Not for me.

I Love You Like Paint

I love you
Like paint.
You stick to me and I swirl around in it —
Your Limerick boyhood charm.
Skip to the shop
Pick up goodies for my birthday breakfast that
We failed to eat.
Your history,
My future —
I have you
And Prague.

The Yank

Your preoccupation with my weight was popular,
I played into your
Dirty American tabloid —
You sold me on it.
I begged you for more
Like a junkie —
Hunger consumed me all day.
Your diatribe, so succinct and refined
I felt like the muse of your fairy tale.
Perfection
In a fabled land constructed by you
Is futile.
Still I wore your clothes
Your hair —
Your voice,
Your smell.
I even wrote your music for you —
And lost the only thing that made me unique
Myself.

Ranelagh Road

you are my confetti of cherry blossoms
scattered about the pavement
adored and singularly delightful.
thoughts of you explode
during spring afternoons
like piñatas floating through the sky, wrapped in their papier-mâché of
hot air balloons filled with sprinkles.
you arrive on a saturday, tanned and beautiful
for my birthday
filled with wishes and wine
company, conversation
and kisses.

Liscannor in June

I lay in your gaff
While you fill prescriptions
Of parenting.
Soaked ashtrays were never
My story.
You found it easy to make love
In that storm
And I found you
Silent for once —
You looked holy.
You sank into Bulmers
As I cleaned the mess;
Staring desperately — knowing
This creation would one day
Be hers.