POPPIES
the sky cracks
rivers flow with blood
soldiers flood the earth
singing the lullaby
their weapons shining
like jewellery
and under their feet
anonymous bones
REST IN PEACE
I will dress myself in the flowers
laid on your grave
I will set my heart on fire
with the embers of candles
I will blind my eyes
with wreaths
I will fill my mouth
with the earth you lie in
ALL THE SOUVENIRS
everything tastes better in bed
you whispered in my ear
too many times
I smashed all the souvenirs from the places
you always wanted to visit
shouting out her name
shattered pieces getting deep
into your Persian carpet
like knives into flesh
frantically trying to change a hoover bag
and everything else in my life
job flat breakfast cereal
no more take away pizza
from that Italian place
on the corner
we were always forgetting napkins
and you were licking
my fingers
Agnieszka Filipek lives in Galway, Ireland. She writes in both Polish, her native tongue, and English, and also translates in these languages. Her work has been published internationally in countries such as Poland, Ireland, India, China, England, Wales, Germany, Bangladesh, Canada and the United States. Her poems have appeared in Marble Poetry Magazine, Pale Fire – New Writing on the Moon Anthology, Crannóg, The Stony Thursday Book, Chrysanthemum and elsewhere. Poppies and All the Souvenirs first appeared in The Stony Thursday Book and Light Journal respectively.
DODGING THE RAIN 