Angela Graham

28th AUGUST 2019, THE ILLEGAL PROGROGATION OF PARLIAMENT

That day in Kabul when the wedding guests exploded;
that other when I let a wee girl on the platform ricochet
from and towards her mother’s spew of blame
or the one when I didn’t shelter
a railway worker from a racist shower …

Some close at hand, some far.
Kabul or Coleraine station, the same acid rain.

Yesterday in Coleraine station I saw the airiness
its architect had enticed inside and a guard whose smile
kept all our doors ajar and, in the town, a shopfront
of bottles, wittily displayed.
Such things… light-filled.

These close at hand. In far
Kabul or in Coleraine, the same inherent shine?

Today, when our democracy exploded,
I was tread-milling for an email thrill when I caught
the acrid taste of tipping-point.
In the rank mulch of small misdeeds
the great ones grow. Wake up, wake up, my soul.

Some close at hand, some far.
Kabul, Coleraine, the Commons – I must reach those I can.

Angela Graham is a film maker and writer who lives in N. Ireland and Wales. Her poetry has been widely published eg The North, Poetry Wales, The Interpreter's House. Her short story collection, 'A City Burning' is longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. @angelagraham8