‘Rule of Thirds’ by Shauna Gilligan
In the prison yard burst
footballs still trapped in barbed wire,
a grey watchtower still
against the winter steel sky
above the visiting room
where his rough lips give way
when we kiss pushing
the loneliness down.
At night cries ripple through
the landing; I shut my
eyes, dream of outside.
My girl: not a teen minus
one or an adult minus six.
At twelve she owns time, possesses
pause. I pray she’ll never know
this rule of thirds.
Shauna Gilligan is a professional member of the Irish Writers Centre who facilitates creative writing in community and prison settings. Her writing has been widely published and she has received numerous awards for writing including the Cecil Day Lewis Literary Bursary for Literature (2015) and a Creative Ireland Grant (2021). Recently awarded a Brigid 1500 Grant (Kildare Co. Co.), she co-edited the anthology of writing and visual art, Fire: Brigid and The Sacred Feminine (Arlen House: Dublin, 2024) with Niamh Boyce. In 2025, she was awarded the Irish Writers’ Centre / Tyrone Guthrie Centre Jack Harte Bursary.
Author photo by Ger Holland.
Main photo by Shauna Gilligan