The Ofi Press Magazine

International Poetry and Literature from Mexico City

Conor Kelly: 1 Poem Published

Poem by Conor Kelly (Ireland)

Published in The Ofi Press issue 42

 

 

 

#BusStop


You could stand at a bus stop in a small town
south of Boston, north of Frankfurt, east of Canberra
and watch the vapor trail from a distant plane
so far away you cannot hear a sound
as that trans-continental jet moves high above
a world from which it's never quite immune.

or

You could stand at a bus stop in Gaza City
and use your camera-phone to photograph and tweet
a disembodied hand, in blood, beside your polished shoes.
There is a loud explosion. Then you see
a woman's hand; her bright engagement ring
has diamonds sparkling in the mid-day sun.

About the Poet

Conor Kelly was born in Dublin (1952) and spent his adult life teaching in a school in the Dublin suburbs. He retired to a small village in the Charente region of France to play boules, sample the local cuisine and run his twitter site, @poemtoday, dedicated to the short poem. He has had poems printed in US (Southern Review, Huffington Post) British (Envoi, Snakeskin, AndOtherPoems) and Irish (Poetry Ireland Review, Honest Ulsterman) magazines.

Image: "Waiting at Bus Stop" by Renee McGurk.