Red-haired traveller in the night,
untamed emigré in concrete city,
sniffs out apples in market bins -
Kerry Pippins, Lady Fingers of Offaly -
featherweight brush of bristled fur,
dusky shapeshifter through modernity.
He navigates the boozy shadows,
relies on sleight and trickery,
feint movements to preserve self-worth,
skulks back to family in the earth.
Cooped up now in a suburban den
he recalls a stroll down Grafton Street,
no angry farmer, no clucking hens,
a turning world that breathes again.
Matthew Geden is a poet, teacher and translator living in Kinsale. His most recent collection is The Cloud Architect (Doire Press, 2022).
untamed emigré in concrete city,
sniffs out apples in market bins -
Kerry Pippins, Lady Fingers of Offaly -
featherweight brush of bristled fur,
dusky shapeshifter through modernity.
He navigates the boozy shadows,
relies on sleight and trickery,
feint movements to preserve self-worth,
skulks back to family in the earth.
Cooped up now in a suburban den
he recalls a stroll down Grafton Street,
no angry farmer, no clucking hens,
a turning world that breathes again.
Matthew Geden is a poet, teacher and translator living in Kinsale. His most recent collection is The Cloud Architect (Doire Press, 2022).
