ted mccarthy

A Painting of Saint Agnes

A Painting of Saint Agnes

No one caught the beauty that went before
and after you: it fed the air like light,
invisible, life-giving. And your life,
it faded into darkness too, as might

a martyr unredeemed by others' faith.
And into view a painting of Saint Agnes
shimmers; she shares the small coals of your eyes,
that knack of distant gazing, as if kindness

was an amber where the passing life was held.
No surprise then that a dark glance can unman me
in corridor, on canvas; or those full

Interiors

Interiors

A lifetime is barely enough to notice
colour veining stone; striated years leech
into vision, pocking in highlights
that punctuate an unrevealed epic.

Darks and greys line, bowed. Arrested
by a sermon on the sea, imagination
winds round the thread of their minimal
movements; odd heads bow like black buoys.

Ted McCarthy

Ted McCarthy has been published in Ireland, Britain, Germany and the U.S. His first collection won a national award in Ireland, the Brendan Behan Award.

The Irish bungalow book

cover of The Irish bungalow bookauthor: Ted McCarthy
ASIN or ISBN-10: 0853427429
binding: Paperback
amazon price: $20.00 USD


November Wedding and Other Poems

cover of November Wedding and Other Poemsauthor: Ted McCarthy
ASIN or ISBN-10: 1901866211
binding: Paperback
list price: $18.95 USD
amazon price: $14.15 USD


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