Blue Dreams

Late November, the afternoons are drained
of light, invisible footsteps scurry
up garden paths, while an anonymous silence
settles on the street. Windows spark
as trees are unveiled in this year’s glitter
palette, the clamour of their lights
seeking to stall the hastening night.

Backstage, children compose present lists
on Möbius strips, before being rushed to bed –
surrendering to blue dreams, while parents
calculate what they might get
for last year’s toys, scour bank accounts
for missing digits and sit in the half-lit kitchen,
waiting for a rap on the door.

A past winner of the Trocaire/Poetry Ireland, Bangor Poetry, and Poems for Patience competitions, Maurice Devitt is the curator of the Irish Centre for Poetry Studies site. His second collection Some of These Stories are True was published by Doire Press in 2023.