Two Poems by Hazel Durham

 

Sometimes

 

Sometimes a dream is as vivid as a sunlit day,

sometimes it’s as soft as cashmere.

I hear the blackbird’s haunting tune,

the town of Cashel slumber in its cocoon,

angels gossiping on street corners,

devils dancing in the alleys.

 

I stand on top of the hill as ash trees rustle.

I hear children’s laughter, a referee’s whistle,

all the bustle of the town.

The Rock of Cashel embracing me like a familiar old friend.

As I draw in breath,

light rain begins to fall as I taste its silky moisture.

 

All around I see the past, present and future,

the colourless pitter patter of raindrops, like the sound of chatter,

echoing from the great rock,

over the fields, streets and rooftops,

out into the vast universe,

my heart flies higher than the treetops.

 

 

At first sight

 

The first time I saw you

in the Seven Oaks in Carlow.

I noticed your hair, like a fresh fall of snow,

the changing skies in your eyes,

like a wind howling across the fields.

 

Over tea, you talked about your farm,

you were now like a tree replanted in cold concrete.

But I also heard the thrush sing from the conifers,

your eyes were moist talking about the loss

of your fields and cattle mooing for their feed.

 

Afterwards, we stood outside,

and you bent your face towards mine,

and it was moonlit, my heart did a flit.

And then you held my hand

through the glistening streets of Carlow town,

down through your past, the cornfields swaying. 

 

 

 

Hazel Durham has been published in Setu / Impspired / Drawn to the Light and she won The Inaugural Borris Focus Centre / Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas/ Carlow County Library competition in 2019. Hazel used to work in the horseracing industry for a number of years.