Southword 19

Since I have some time on my hands I've been reading some of the poems in the very impressive Southword Journal online.  It is edited by the somewhat prodigious to date Leanne O'Sullivan.  The American poet Billy Collins has two poems included.  I frequently read his collection The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems in the bath.  He is a cool writer:



The birds are in their trees,
the toast is in the toaster,
and the poets are at their windows.

They are at their windows
in every section of the tangerine of earth-
the Chinese poets looking up at the moon,
the American poets gazing out
at the pink and blue ribbons of sunrise.

he writes in his poem Monday.  I like this poem because it makes me think how it is the mundane the poet always sees anew, and how poetry is simply a way of life.  In Southword he has a poem about Paris as does Mike Alexander.  I must visit Pere Lachaise cemetery if I return to that city. 

Vona Groake has a great poem called The Galway Train in the journal.  A lot of the poetry seems to be influenced by travel and European (is that now a dirty word?) culture.

There is a lot to read in this journal so here is a link

http://www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/Issues/19/contents.html

Myself, I've written three verses of a poem that may offer a comment on the year that is ending.  It came about suddenly when I was startled by the colour of the evening sky.

Happy New year if I'm not back again beforehand.