Paris
The world has gotten smaller
and the slaughter, always far away,
is now upon the doorstep.
Young and old alike, strewn
like poppies in a tempest.
And time the thief cannot be re-bought.
La Vie En Rose is far too short.
Je te deteste is easier to say
than je t’adore today.
Mr Panico
In wartime Middlesbrough, as soon as Italy declared war on Britain, the previously loved Ice Cream family, the Panicos, began having their windows put in…
Today’s ice cream may contain
hundreds and thousands,
somewhat sharp on the tongue.
A shard ninety nine special.
As old Mr Panico combed
the remains of his windows
out of his scalp, the cares
of the world came to rest
on the shoulders of a sudden
accidental outsider as a town
full of mongrels, turned
on the little man who had made
their own children’s lives
that wee bit sweeter.
Harry Gallagher has been widely published and his third pamphlet, ‘Chasing The Sunset’ (Black Light Engine Room Press), is out now. He also co-runs The Stanza, a monthly poetry night just outside of Newcastle. More info at www.harrygallagherpoet.wordpress.com“