O'Connell Street, June 2001

Straight ahead,
stride, keep the beat
going,
though it's late
and you're on your own
now,
just your heel steel tipping it,
chaffing the tiles.

That man,
trailing his pals,
mincing, exaggerated hips,
it's not you he's aping,
not your practised grace,
but he's passed
laughter fades.

Crowds gripping
tourist maps
mob the cop at the GPO
who's bored,
checks his watch,
thumbs his radio switch
reassured
by the static.

The metal clicks,
another shutter down
as the arcade closes,
the last few gamesters
out on the street,
blinking, unsure,
hoping the Spar
can save them
now.

Staccato taps,
tap tapping
in the phone box,
a bald man
disconnecting himself
over
and over.

^

Biography

Nessa O'Mahony is a writer and editor. Her first collection, Bar Talk, was published in 1999. Her poetry has appeared in many magazines and journals. She has been editing Electric Acorn since 1998.