The Rose is a symbol long steeped in romance, spirituality and mysticism and I have a long-held love for this flower. The mandala shape of the rose has its own significance and it is important to note that there is a language of flowers.
I was happy to have my poem Beyond Caravaggio published in issue 4 of The Rose Magazine. Thanks to co-editors Lisa Egan and Daniel Martin for including my work. This particular poem is a response to seeing Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ in Dublin earlier this year. Every poem in this issue packs a punch and I particularly enjoyed Edward O'Dwyers's Let's Say, Billy Banks by Mark Rowlands and Junior B Championship by Daniel Galvin. The artwork is very pleasing too.
I've been very busy editing Boyne Berries 22, The Ledwidge Issue, which is almost ready for a first draft. I was delighted to learn that Cyphers is going to publish a poem of mine and I had a poem included in Amaryllis (Poetry Swindon's poetry blog) yesterday. Thanks to editor Stephen Daniels. 'Crossing' is both a lament for and a rejoicing in, time past.
