Five Haiku & Three Poems by Paddy Donoghue

 

Storm – A Haiku

 

Dark threatening clouds

streak across a sullen sky

thundering evening. 

 

 

Gone – A Haiku

 

Etched across a lawn

shadows, windblown and sun kissed

ghost clothes of a child. 

 

 

Intimacy – A Haiku

 

Side by side we stand

hands brush stroking each other

a heart beats faster. 

 

 

Healing – A Haiku

 

Your cinnamon skin

radiates beauty within

healing hurting hearts. 

 

 

Dusking – A Haiku

 

Vagrant sun

alluring skyline

crimson set. 

 

 

Ending

(Spreagadh – Evocation) 

 

Words              spoken in love

Keep spinning the reels in his head. 

 

Touches           gentle and delicate

Keep rippling echoes on his skin. 

 

Eyes                tuned for seduction

Keep drawing him into the labyrinth. 

 

But the reels

Only flatter to create an illusion 

 

And the touches

Only become frost on dry bones 

 

And the eyes

Only tease what has been starved 

 

Leaving him crushed - with a heart full of sorrow.

 

 

Harmonised 

 

When hope seems like a stranger

And moonlight reflected on water seems lifeless

The earth still spins

The sun still shines

And the rain still falls.

 

When control seems like a danger

And wars create a vacuum that seems timeless

The sun still shines

The rain still falls

And the poor still starve.

 

When nations seem to become loath

And good people choose to defy growth

The rain still falls

The poor still starve

And the light still flickers.

 

When the rain nourishes the earth      as it spins

And the sun draws light from a flicker          cleansing sins.

 

When good people take control         conflict will cease

And hope dances with moonlight       serving peace.

 

When wars have wearied the nations

And control no longer entices the mighty

When the world order is returned to station

Only then will the poor no longer starve nightly.

 

Sillage

 

(For the Voyager) 

 

Voices drift

across an open space

giving words to thoughts

when

from the midst of this coven of poets

I catch your aroma –

soft                  it lingers in the air

haloed around your presence

casting your spell

the way a gas light might illuminate a fog

I lean               into your orbit

close my eyes             inhale  deeply

breathe you into my skin        and oh…

how lovely.

 

 

 

Paddy Donoghue was born in Glencolmcille but now resides in Bundoran, Co. Donegal. Writing poetry since secondary school days, he has had several pieces published over the years, in many literary journals and magazines. He has won awards for his poetry in both the Irish and English language. Read his work at several literary events including, at Cúirt, Scríobh and the Macklin festivals. 

Paddy facilitates writing workshops and was a founding member of the original Bundoran Writers group and the current Atlantic Writers Ink group. This year he was selected as the Bealtine poet and facilitated at workshops across Donegal. 

His last collection, Leave Taking, published in 2024, was shortlisted for the CAP Awards 2025 in the anthology/poetry section.