LORRAINE WHELAN - POEMS

Lorraine Whelan is a Canadian writer and visual artist based in Ireland. Her published writing takes the form of poetry, memoir & fiction (USA, Ireland, Canada & online) and art criticism & commentary (Ireland, Luxembourg & online). Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in New Irish Writing, Canadian Author & Bookman, The Examined Life, Cyphers, The Salmon, Tales from the Forest, CIRCA, Abstract, and others. As a visual artist, Whelan has exhibited internationally and her artwork is included in public, corporate and private collections in Ireland, Canada, USA, UK, Belgium & Australia. 

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​Thingvellir at Night

​I gaze into the dark expanse,
the deepness of time.
The night is cold, bitter,
but I stand solid
at the meeting of plates.

Tectonic land masses beneath my feet
more sturdy than my shifting
yet young in comparison
to the sharp specks of light above.

The Milky Way curves a clear path
but there are no Northern Lights tonight.
No matter.
The silence is palpable.
The glittering show beyond expectation.

I blink in the frost, my eyes water
and the stars rearrange themselves in the sky.

Noticing Heaven

​In a dream I see
the rainbow rings of Saturn
burst in a shower of colour
as the planet explodes
before my eyes

and then this evening
with a telescope and you
from the roof garden
I watch four satellites
embrace cold Jupiter
as the full moon dances
over Dublin city sky.

​near Greystones

​you are beautiful

especially here
at night by the sea

you stand tall but shiver slightly
with the sharp wind of an oncoming storm
dark strands of hair surround your face
that glows whiter than the full moon

eyes like black craters gaze
over the waves
as they churn and dash among the rocks
close to the shore below us

I watch in awe

you are a dream
and I must wake
in another land
without you