Patrick Donnelly, the author of one of our Spring 2012 books, Nocturnes of the Brothel of Ruin, has his poem "Read the Signs" published in Mead Magazine.
Read the Signs
When I rinsed my spectacles under the tap and wiped them with my undershirt,
When every night the striped spider rebuilt her web, triangulating with a car
aerial that every morning pulled the work apart,
When a man, and then a woman, with orange flags flapping from their
motorchairs rolled under the kitchen windows, he with one leg, she with
none,
When the poor streets bore names like Gold, Paris, and Temple,
When from the Second Baptist Church came a song of dissatisfaction with the city of
men, in which one tenor predominated, especially when he paused to breathe,
When every night the striped spider rebuilt her web, triangulating with a car
aerial that every morning pulled the work apart,
When a man, and then a woman, with orange flags flapping from their
motorchairs rolled under the kitchen windows, he with one leg, she with
none,
When the poor streets bore names like Gold, Paris, and Temple,
When from the Second Baptist Church came a song of dissatisfaction with the city of
men, in which one tenor predominated, especially when he paused to breathe,
When a sign told how at this mission migrants prayed pardonne-nous nos offences,
fed on franks and beans, were handed a few dollars to tide them till they
disappeared into the mills lit all night,
(mills long shut, town folded for years at dusk),
Here the brightness that caught the eye by the river was only a marble in the
grass, a wish-fulfilling jewel I put in my pocket,
fed on franks and beans, were handed a few dollars to tide them till they
disappeared into the mills lit all night,
(mills long shut, town folded for years at dusk),
Here the brightness that caught the eye by the river was only a marble in the
grass, a wish-fulfilling jewel I put in my pocket,
Click here to read the rest of the poem and to browse through Mead Magazine. If you love this poem as much as we think you will, head over to our website to look at Nocturnes of the Brothel of Ruin.
