Brian Kirk – May Blessing

Kirk LE P&W Vol 1 Nov-Dec 2025

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Live Encounters Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume One
November- December 2025

May Blessing, poems by Brian Kirk.


May Blessing

May winter die and summer bloom,
green branches shade us from the sun,
wildflowers dapple meadow sward
guiding us toward the light.

May bonfires show the way at dusk
to those who wander in the dark,
let each one take their part as due
allowing all to share the light.

May days stretch out to welcome all,
the poorest given all they need,
the weakest soar above the strong,
the heavy burden growing light.

May sunshine bless your ageing bones
and bring the spark back to your eyes,
the smile to those unhappy lips,
you’ve waited so long for the light.

May seasons always be discrete
just as they were in your dim youth,
may summer alter everything,
defeating darkness, bearing light.


No Peace

with apologies to Yeats 

I will recline and rest now, turn on the TV,
and a small burrow make here, of throws and cushions made;
two remotes will I have there, Doritos open on my knee,
and mute the sound to bluebottle grade.
And I shall have no peace there, for peace is not a show
airing on terrestrial TV or pay per view, no satellite pings
serenity; empty faces and jarring images glow,
and I’m drawn to them like moths’ wings.
I will recline and rest now, for always night and day
I hear devices buzz, vibrate, whisper and roar;
while I lie in a heap with last night’s takeaway,
I hear only what is uncalled for.

© Brian Kirk

Brian Kirk has published two collections with Salmon Poetry, After The Fall (2017) and Hare’s Breath (2023). His poem “Birthday” won Irish Poem of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2018. His chapbook It’s Not Me, It’s You won the Southword Fiction Chapbook Competition, published by Southword Editions in 2019. His novel Riverrun was chosen as a winner of the IWC Novel Fair 2022.

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