Creation and Criticism

Marie Shine (1950) is a poet of Listowel, the literary capital of Ireland. She has three collection of poems— ‘My Potpourri of Poetry’ (2011), ‘A Sense of Life’ (2018) and ‘Selected Poems: Marie Shine’ (2020) to her credit. She has also been the editor of ‘A String of Words’ (Prakash Book Depot, 2010), a collection of poems of five poets. She resides at 32, Ballygologue Park, Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland- V31 EC84 and can also be contacted at mariejshine@gmail.com.

Received on Dec 05, 2023; Accepted on Jan 05, 2024. Available online: April 10, 2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

1. Leaving

I felt the sharpness of your tongue last night

As your words cut into my heart

Unchecked tears flowed from my eyes

And the pain refused to depart

But gathered momentum

Like high tide waves rolling towards shore

Bringing memories with each passing thought

Of happier days, sadly now no more

So I've put my few possessions in a wee brown bag

And leave you a note you'll find when I've gone

I go on my way, though my feet seem to drag

As I join the queue by the bus

Anonymity among the throng.

2. Liar! Liar!!

You lie through your teeth

Through your covering smile

Diverting your eyes

So mine they don’t meet

You sit there and talk

While gritting your teeth

I go for a walk

To evade your deceit

Why lie when you can tell the truth

Why is everything so secret

It’s like wanting to be old while still in your youth

Neither sense nor meaning to it

So, go your way and I’ll go mine

I’d rather be apart

From one who lies time after time

To a truthful, honest heart.

3. Liquid Words

I am in tears
They fall
silently
from my eyes
in colourless pools
at your feet

Words
I cannot voice
out pour in liquid
through the cracks
and crevices
of
my broken heart.

4. Mother Nature Is Pregnant… Again!

Mother Nature smiles as her children are born
and a myriad of colours shoot through the earth
A rainbow spans the sky washing her babies
as she gives birth
The sun warms their bed with rays of golden light
while the moon sings them a lullaby
as they go to sleep each night
Tenderly loved and nurtured
they thrive and grow each day
Filling our world with perfumed scent
Alas! They cannot stay
The seasons change and
Mother Nature pregnant, once more gives birth.
New colours, scents and varieties
shoot through the fertile earth
So the year progresses
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall
and with each new season
Mother Nature blooms for all.

5. Buried Memories

Dreams are shattered

Reality opens old wounds
Ghosts rise from their graves.