Two Poems by Patrick Holloway

Long Distance Call

 

Green cone-pines cluster the distance,

And beyond lies the city, high

Rising buildings, hop, skip and

Jumping across the land. And

 

 

Further still a river, or a port,

Boats, cargo, ferry-boats

Onwards towards the

Sea.

 

 

Oceans and forests between

Us.

 

 

The sun is sprawling and stretching

The sky. All that sky.

 

 

All that sea.

 

 

As my phone rings

And you tell me the news

All of this adds to the silence

Between us.


 

 

Ryanair flight from Gatwick to Cork

 

One moment there will be nothing,

Just the sound of a book closing

In an empty room

And then

That will be gone

Too

But for now

We have this, we

Have this, our hands joined,

Elbows touching

With all that has happened

And all that is left

To unfold.

 

Copyright © Patrick Holloway, 2015

 

patrick hollowayPatrick Holloway is currently completing his PhD in Brazil in Creative Writing, where he is writing a bilingual book of poetry. His story ‘A Long Haul’ was chosen for the anthology Kissing Him Goodbye and other stories, by Poetic Republic. His poem ‘A Ritual’ was recently published in the anthology We Will Be Shelter. His other stories and poems have been published by a host of literary journals including Overland Literary Journal and Poetry Ireland Review. His short story ‘Counting Stairs’ was highly commended for the Manchester Fiction Prize.

Image: Copyright © Jo Mazelis, 2015