the village stream
reflects bare branches --
cat slinks through the shadow

leaves pile up outside
my freshly broomed-out porch

the combine throbs
across half-shaven fields
moon rises unnoticed

note from school
another head lice infestation

* * *

a broken string
at violin practice
resin in the air

alone once more
the smell lingers on her pillow

his beacon
on Mount Leinster's peak
as I climb out the window

dog's pink tongue
licks out the whipped cream bowl

first rains
cascade down my slate roof
I set the peat alight

making new year cards
she forgets this one's mistakes

* * *

bedridden now
the nurse remembers
past cruelties

not pretending not to notice
a flea leaps from my wrist

catching a kiss
blown on the breeze
from last night's dream

obscured by the mosquito net
he rubs ice along her back

I swim by moonlight
the garden
a thousand shades of gray

stone god on a crucifix
your blood drains day and night

* * *

sisters cooking breakfast
with a shared hangover
the men snore on

this year again the swallows
welcome to his eaves

my loose-hanging hair
a cloud of cherry blossoms
scattered by the wind

gathered on the hill to watch
his old kite in the air again

t
--
norman darlington

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rachel ní shomacháin

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norman

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rachel

* * *

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norman

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norman

* * *

w
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norman

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norman

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rachel

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norman

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rachel

* * *

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norman

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norman