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MICHAEL SHARKEY

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Funny that way

An Irish curse, an evil eye

and a packet of prawn heads wrapped up

 

in The Sun came home to roost:

the albatross round my neck had twins

 

and the world was a carnival trick:

the penny dropped, the balloon went up,

 

all ordinaries collapsed. A military band

with your name attached marched in

 

through a hole in my head.

Heart in déshabillé, mind in a sling,

 

and horoscope stuck on hold, I discovered

life wasn’t fun for a zombie.

 

How else explain how it is to be caught

in the rabbit trap called love?

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MICHAEL SHARKEY's most recent collection is The Sweeping Plain [Five Islands Press].