Live Encounters Poetry & Writing February 2026.
Not From Here, poems by Terry McDonagh.
Not from Here
They arrive from god knows where,
some bombed out of babyhood,
others on the run from hunger
and crumbling dreams.
To beat the foreign out of them
we call them non-nationals,
tribe-less-ones who come to us
with odd names and languages
but they learn so quickly
we almost forget they are not native.
They don’t forget
but they don’t tell us.
Some of them are brighter
than our own.
a teacher told a friend.
Newcomer
Teach me, newcomer, teach me.
Teach me how not to smirk
and be smug
when I see you struggle
and teach me
to turn my smile to your aid
when words fail you
and your teeth chatter
like hard nails on the doorstep
and teach me
to understand the small song
you sang for us
while we rattled out
a weary Christmas hymn
and teach me
to set out for school
as a child
and to return as a teenager
ready to speak up
in songs of defiance.
Teach me.
Let me learn
the true language
of the lark
and the white dove –
let me learn from you.
Teach me.
© Terry McDonagh
Terry McDonagh, Irish poet and dramatist has worked in Europe, Asia and Australia. He’s taught creative writing at Hamburg University and was Drama Director at Hamburg International School. Published eleven poetry collections, letters, drama, prose and poetry for young people. In March 2022, he was poet in residence and Grand Marshal as part of the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in Brussels. His work has been translated into German and Indonesian. His poem, ‘UCG by Degrees’ is included in the Galway Poetry Trail on Galway University campus. In 2020, Two Notes for Home – a two-part radio documentary, compiled and presented by Werner Lewon, on The Life and Work of Terry McDonagh, The Modern Bard of Cill Aodáin. His latest poetry collection, ‘Two Notes for Home’ – published by Arlen House – September 2022. He returned to live in County Mayo in 2019.