Pete Mullineaux, poet and dramatist, read out some of his poems at Afri’s Féile Bríde on Saturday 8th February in Kildare. These poems are republished here with his permission.
Zen Traffic Lights
Thank you red dragon
for teaching patience and humility,
so I may observe the green tiger
wisely.
And thank you red dragon
for showing joy in the moment;
so I will ride the green tiger
with enhanced pleasure.
And thank you red dragon
for reflecting my rage, mirrored
in calm cool green waters
to come.
Thank you…
thank you…
that’s enough now,
THANK YOU!
746
for Dermot Desmond:
746th in the Forbes rich list
It isn’t fair –
As Ryan Tubridy joked on the radio,
‘Who wants to be 746th at anything?’
What’s another billionaire?
When to think: a touch more generous,
a grand or two less needy,
I’d be 747…
Now there’s a number that rings,
to have you walking on air,
I might have had wings!
Wasting Away
We hope that some things cannot be erased,
(the Buddhist sees each sorry soul return)
though most of it will have to go to waste.
Hooked on progress, forever making haste
we gobble up, incinerate and burn;
believing some things cannot be erased.
And for fear we may become debased,
we cultivate improvement; seek to learn:
though most of it will have to go to waste.
But whether we’re the chaser or the chased,
much like a coin – depending on the turn;
hoping that some things cannot be erased
we look back at those footprints barely paced;
ley lines of meaning wistfully discern…
though most of it will have to go to waste.
Thinking then of this life as but a taste
of things to come; beyond our current concern:
accepting we will one day be erased –
we hope (and pray) that some things never go to waste.
All poems by Pete Mullineaux. Pete’s “A Father’s Day” collection is available to buy on Salmon Poetry here; his more recent collection “Session” is also available on Salmon Poetry here.
Published by