When my wife ran away
with the milkman, I didn’t notice
for days. Just assumed
she was busy at work – rising early,
returning late. I had seamlessly
stepped into the breach – assembling
superfood lunches from berries
and bugs, ferrying the kids to lacrosse
and astrophysics, and debating
Sartre and Schopenhauer way past
their bedtime. So it was only
the third day, as I stumbled
from the fug of sleep,
that I was struck by the empties
building up on the step.
Tag: Maurice Devitt
Walking the Dog by Maurice Devitt
I knew he wanted a walk
when he brought in his lead,
pointed at the watch on my wrist
and started to bark.
He wasn’t particularly choosy
which route we took,
once we passed the bejazzled poodle
in number 14. They had history,
not all of it good, and even now,
she re-buffed his advances,
sitting inside the gate, checking
her nails and preening
her latest coiffure. The park,
a treasure trove of loose dogs,
was likely to offer more success,
and here he could afford to be picky,
turning up his nose at mongrels
and bull terriers, finding a shih tzu pretty
but superficial and setting his heart
on a cocker spaniel, come-to-bed eyes
and floppy ears. Coy at first,
the barriers quickly dropped and
what passed between them
was both romantic and breathless.
I’m not even sure if he caught
her name, although when we went
home, he scribbled something
on the wall above his bed,
then settled into a chair, happy to have
the rest of the day to himself.
In 2016, Maurice Devitt was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and shortlisted for the Listowel Poetry Collection Competition. Winner of the Trocaire/Poetry Ireland Competition in 2015, he has been placed or shortlisted in many competitions including the Patrick Kavanagh Award, Over the Edge New Writer Competition, Cuirt New Writing Award and the Doire Press International Chapbook Competition. A guest poet at the ‘Poets in Transylvania’ festival in 2015, he has had poems published in various journals in Ireland, England, Scotland, the US, Mexico, Romania, India and Australia, is curator of the Irish Centre for Poetry Studies site and a founder member of the Hibernian Writers’ Group.
Forbidden Swan by Maurice Devitt
I have never seen a swan
smoking after sex,
but suspect they do. How else
can we explain
the nervous pacing on the tow-path,
wings touching hidden pockets
to check for matches
or the slow draught of air
to mask a throaty cough?
So maybe
after fumbled congress
in the privacy of a hotel room
– webbed feet
snared on carpet pile –
the cob lights up,
pads to an open window,
tips a wing and looks back
to see a crumpled napkin.
(previously published in ‘In Other Words: Merida’ – Mexico)
In 2016, Maurice Devitt was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and shortlisted for the Listowel Poetry Collection Competition. Winner of the Trocaire/Poetry Ireland Competition in 2015, he has been placed or shortlisted in many competitions including the Patrick Kavanagh Award, Over the Edge New Writer Competition, Cuirt New Writing Award and the Doire Press International Chapbook Competition. A guest poet at the ‘Poets in Transylvania’ festival in 2015, he has had poems published in various journals in Ireland, England, Scotland, the US, Mexico, Romania, India and Australia, is curator of the Irish Centre for Poetry Studies site and a founder member of the Hibernian Writers’ Group.