Friday, 13 May 2022

Three Poems by Gordon Ferris


 

The door  

 

imposing obstacle

to freedom

no locks or bolts

just restraints 

on the will to leave. 

the same restraints 

tie the hand 

that holds the pen

making the words 

stay of the page




A mirror looking out.

 

religions in ancient times 

created  by mankind 

to interpret what 

they could not understand, 

 

the sun, where did it  come from, 

where  did it go at night, 

and the moon  

What mysteries   did it bring, 

 

how,  the seasons came and went

how,  food grew from the ground  

how, all in nature     oh so mysterious

our early religions answered these questions 

saying it was God's doing

then went on to ask more questions 

how mankind should live their lives 

posing more  questions

To subjugate us  

 

When we kneel down to prey 

we do so with 

a mirror looking inwards 

we look for affirmation 

of what we already know

and when we speak God's name

we really want it to be a mirror image 

with ourselves looking back

 



now the threshold has been breached



the shackles crash

onto the floor



we are now free

to walk barefoot on the concrete



see that all it does

is chill the soles of our feet



stand there and keep nodding

like the dog on the dashboard



do you even know

what they’re talking about



maybe you do

and it doesn't interest you



when this all starts you

drift off into your own tear-free land

of make-believe where

everybody looks perfect

without effort



as if this really matters



in a perfect world, we wouldn't notice

the shell we wear or

what we have or

where we come from



our innerness would shine and



dim the frivolous trinkets of our display



tell us that, it is ok to be you

and free






Gordon Ferris was born and raised in Finglas, a North West suburb of Dublin. In the early eighties, he moved to Donegal where he has lived ever since. He started writing in 2014 and has had many short stories and poems in publications including Hidden Channel, A New Ulster, The Galway Review, Impspired Magazine, and Lothlorien Poetry Journal. He has also won prizes in the summer 2020 HITA Creative Writing Competition for his poem ‘Mother’, and won the winter competition for his poem ‘The Silence’. Gordon was awarded a Poetry Town Bursary by Poetry Ireland.

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