Poems
Executor Sale
The ad said:approx half an acre,
extensive, magnificent.
A gulp of magpies,
we peck our way
around an empty nest.
The agent has a crooked spine,
eyes of a sparrow hawk,
he flits from our path.
Inside, dark tongues
of floral wallpaper disclose
a smell of mould and must.
A square blue bottle
on the dining table:
Royal Salute Scotch Whiskey, 1801.
The ad said:
approx half an acre,
extensive, magnificent.
A panic button
in the master bedroom;
a cantilevered wheeling table;
depressions in the sand-pink carpet
where the beds' feet stood;
one mustard armchair.
They'll be sold,
jokes a magpie-man,
as props for a film.
Here on the sideboard,
a funeral service sheet, inscribed:
With Christ which is far better.
The ad said:
approx half an acre,
extensive, magnificent.
Winner of Listowel Writers' Week Single Poem originals competition 2014
.