One for sorrow by Francis O'Toole © 2016. Francis's paintings have a depth and magnetism which reveal both his technical skill and poetic eye. The influence of his training in Florence is palpable, as is his unique and arresting style. He has won numerable awards, most recently The Conor Prize 2016. You can find out more about Francis here and watch a documentary about him here.

Inspired by

This inspired

This is the way it is by Denise Blake

I can not lift my head,

grown heavy as a sloth planked

in an old rusted bucket.

 

Thoughts hang like Rastafarian hair

stained in weary flecks,

paint flaking from the elements.

 

I close my eyes, feel the ache,

a half-turned thought unwinds,

gives me her back, a cloaked temptress

 

aft-side, portside, south-westerly.

It is evening, a dimmed prayer

crawls towards a mouldy yesterday.

 

A cloud–picker will appear tomorrow

as the low hiss turns to a hum, a quiver

of worry flows from the first time.

 

The table is set, cobalt blue

and cinnamon, getting ready for words

in a brown bag to seal and keep fresh.

 

He is pulling oxen through a rough field,

Are you ok? We can try to go this way.

He would part the crowds just for me.

Denise Blake’s collections, Take a Deep Breath and How to Spin Without Getting Dizzy, are published by Summer Palace Press. She is a regular contributor to Sunday Miscellany, RTE Radio 1. Her poems have been published in many poetry journals. Denise facilitates Creative Writing in schools and with adult groups. You can follow her on Facebook and read more on her website.

 

Inspired by

© 2024 Spontaneity. Copyright of contributions remains with the artist.