Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page
| If you have a poem you'd like to see published in The Irish Examiner then send it to:
The Poetry Corner
The Irish Examiner USA
1040 Jackson Avenue, Third Floor
Long Island City
NY 11101
or, preferably, you can email it direct to
ronniemcginn@eircom.net.
If possible keep your poem to 20 lines. You may choose any subject you like, in any form you like as long as it's original. We look forward to hearing from you. |
Our poem this week comes from Michael J. Roche Jnr. of Rensselaer, in upstate New York.
Michael can trace his roots back to West Cork, where he likes to visit from time to time.
On one occasion when he and his wife were in Birr, Co. Offaly, he noticed a man whom, at first glance appeared to be his late father. This was the inspiration for his poem.
The thought expressed in Michael's excellent poem will strike a chord in all of us. It is probably better explained by reading it.
Michael has written quite a number of poems and is currently compiling a book. He a Distinguished Member of the International Society of Poets.
Ghosts in the Streets
Ghosts move in these streets
Ireland is full of them
A man the image of my dad passed me this day
And my father over twenty years dead
At every turn they appear
Dear dead uncles and aunts
Friends of many years as well
Their children and their children's' children
The living I know, the dead I knew, those yet to be
They move about in other roles
On this distant, different stage
Not quite who they are or were
Given over to another script
Perhaps they did not leave at all
Perhaps I am the specter
He who might have been
They may see me as such
If they see me at all
If I stop the man who is the image of my father
Will he be offended
Will he change before me
Will he disappear
Will I disappear
I will watch him pass, noting the semblance
Ghosts move in these streets
Ireland is full of them
© Michael J. Roche, Jr., Rensselaer, NY
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