Echo of the Love, a Liberties Festival poem by Hazel Hogan

If you listen closely you'll hear the hasty
beating of hearts leaning towards first kisses
and their half hoping dreams and the memories
in creation for the young lovers leaning on lampposts
in the half-light of Francis Street fingers intertwined
giving echo to the love given freely in this city
nurtured together in the hum of these streets
they grow together falling in love naturally
soon he will secure a job in the factory
to give support to the swell of her belly
they will make a home of the skyline
on nightime feeds watch the glimmer and glow
of the lights shimmering on the river peacefully
live beneath cracks in the slats on a rooftop of flats
listen to the new voice of their gurgling baby
watch as the days go by seeing the child grow
from days of crawling until the boy is grown
to find his own place in the sprawl of it all
it's a familiar familial story that they live simply
and their life will go on like this happily
their love never waning only ever-growing
laughter always echoing through their home
though life is slowing down now
now as her days draw to a close
the sunlight fades on her face
so his face mirrors the same
and the lines etched into the face of the man
sitting lonesome on barstools each night
tell the story of all that he has loved
and all that he has lost through his life
the mere memory of his late wife twinkle
like the last of burning embers in his eyes
and all that he has learnt through this love
will have to be enough to get him through
the nights that he walks through the rain
alone to his empty abode along cobblestone
through the lanes that whisper of home

Echo of the love was written as a part of What’s the Story?, a showcase of live literature from the community run during The Liberties Festival. For six weeks SICCDA writers in residence Colm Keegan and Alice Kinsella have been working with participants to explore The Liberties through poetry, music, and theatre, using creative writing to tell their story. A night of live poetry, theatre, and music celebrating life in The Liberties, ‘What’s the Story?’ will take place in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas St on July 20th. Doors 7.30pm, tickets available on the door