Poetry Day Ireland: Poetry M’App Project

To celebrate Poetry Day Ireland on 2 May 2019, I have written two poems for the Poetry M’App project, an online map of poems from around the world.  Thank you to Maria McManus  and Una Lee for including my poems in this wonderful project.  https://labellit.wordpress.com/ Sincere thanks to Niall Woods from Porchlight Studios, Dublin for the recordings of both poems.

The poems are entitled The Reflective Eye and Chroma and are Truth responses to sculptures by Emer O Boyle (The Reflective Eye) and Eilis O’Connell (Chroma). If you zoom in on this map of the world to University College Dublin, you can play the audio for both poems. http://www.poetrymapp.com/
On the day I will be leaving signed luggage labels with information on how to listen to both poems.

 

Poetry Day Ireland: Event at the Olivier Cornet Gallery

A Truth or Dare Response to ‘An Altered Land’

Join us to hear poets in a Truth or Dare response to the current exhibition ‘An Altered Land’ by David Fox at the Olivier Cornet Gallery on Thursday 2 May at 7pm.

Places are limited. To reserve a place please visit

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https://m.facebook.com/events/287026762209618

Just finished my poem entitled “Cutting through Green”. Here’s an extract:

A marked land keeps us in line
Grey rain falls, cold…..

Poem: Gone

Orla Grant-Donoghue at Curracloe Beach
Curracloe Beach

You lifted me out of my head
dropped me into my heart
but I keep
falling
falling
falling.

You set us on a course to collide
when the stardust settled
you were
gone
gone
gone.

No wrapping ribbons around shattered fragments of
what
is
broken
gone.

No undoing what was done
no taking back the hurt
what we had is no more
it’s
gone
gone
gone.

Reflections

Poem from The Lea-Green Down, edited by Eileen Casey, published by Fiery Arrow Press – an anthology of poems responding to the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh.

Reflections
Orla Grant-Donoghue

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In still waters here
where you contemplated
all that went before,
I will watch over your words
until the sun burns away.

Not one
will I allow go astray.

I can dress you in evergreen
or bronze. Cast you
on a lake of calm
or a wooden seat of clay but
until the sun burns away
I will watch over your words.

Not one
Will I allow go astray.

I give you my word.
Your legacy will remain,
etched in our hearts to stay.

Is mise Éire.
© Orla Grant-Donoghue 2018

Haiku: From Ulysses

These haiku were included as part of an installation by artist, Nickie Hayden, at the Olivier Cornet Gallery to celebrate Bloomsday 2018. The exhibition is entitled “Drawing on Joyce.”

Plums pierced, dribbled spit
search spires skywards – rambunctious
women stone pillar.

Sand letter. Stick pen.
Stuck in silt. I. AM. A. Note
for Nausicaa. Fade.

Stone, worry, walk, long
counting heartbeats, searching. Where?
Soap in pocket. Safe.

Written by Orla Grant-Donoghue

© Orla Grant-Donoghue 2018