Martin O'Neill

An extraordinary time you have waited
Quiet, in no kind of rush
You must be pleased now that it's over
Your time in the African bush
...

Uncork the bottle and pour me a drink
A long one
A strong one
I don't want to think
...

The wind circles round, laughing
As she dances with it
Trailing sparkles and spangles
And giggles in the air.
...

Three hundred and twenty years in the making.
Lovers have met
Battles been fought, won and lost
And the afternoon heat
...

Slowly, softly, silently stalking
Stepping, slinking, squeezingpastthe
Shining, shimmering, scintillating
Bars of gold that threaten to
...

November rains wash the dreams down the drain
And a rainbow lies bleeding in the street
Where it gets splashed by car tyres to the edge
And on to red shoes on a young girl's feet.
...

I sit here
Sifting my basket of Junes
Birthdays and Sundays
And picnics
...

A shopping shark shimmers
In the city centre seize
Picking off the bargains
With a practised, fluid ease
...

She's an outbreak of gloom in the corner
An affront occluded by pain
She could moan all four legs off a donkey
And persuade it to walk off again
...

I ponder the axle of my truck
Invisible to the naked eye
In depths of mud and water stuck
And wait for the recovery truck
...

The barrister's wife was unfaithful
With one of the Chambers' young lusties
An abortion performed
He remains uninformed
...

Alison is going to be late
For her train connection
Because Peter changed lane
Instead of radio channel.
...

Vodka, the cheaper bottle from the corner shop in
A clear bottle, you can see the wallpaper
Through it on the other side of
The world.
...

Scrunched into a corner
An emotional squall
A tight knot of pain
With his head on the wall
...

I feel I ought to explain that this is a Trigee poem, two short poems that can stand alone and may also be combined to form a third. I'm not sure of the origin of the style but it's fun to play with.
...

Dust motes float, trapped.
Suspended in the timeless amber
Of a sepia Wednesday.
The cheap carriage clock, tarnished
...

I would have brought flowers
But it seemed wrong, somehow
To cut down one beauty
In memory of another
...

IC means in charge
In the Army
I swear
It's true
...

Black polythene bags disgorging detritus
An urban comet trail along the path
Limned faintly in morning frost, cars passing, oblivious.
There, below an incongruous vermillion balaclava,
...

Dear Mrs Williams


I regret to inform you of.......The Minister's statement about
The death of your son............His involvement in the Afghan war is
A terrible tragedy...............Made worse
Knowing it was...................Due to
...