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 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.