When one has lived a long time
(After Galway Kinnell)
When one has lived a long time alone
and not alone your time become
someone’s history and you have grown
tired of yet another war and the world
has it in for you simply for being
wrong nation wrong colour wrong
construct in all its fairy-tale fictions
you begin the long slow weaning from lives
someone makes it their business to spoon
24/7 into your small ever so human head
and dream of an island fish sea-wind
and a life lived companied by no more folk
as can live a long time alone
and not alone on a handful of salty acres
Julian Brasington is an artist printmaker and poet. His poems have appeared previously in Ink Sweat & Tears, as well as in the national press and in magazines such as PN Review and Stand. He lives in Llanfairfechan. Website: https://www.julianbrasington.