for Michael Gambon, 1940-2023
The empty stage, a light breeze from somewhere,
dust life, word-husk, fury down to a sigh
and he’s there seated among the unaccounted for
ghosts in the Gate, modestly welcoming
the applause for who he is, always was abundantly,
a suite of human being – lover, saviour
bastard, scamp – wooing the silence with a breath,
a pass, a pause, having it speak for itself.
Hugh O’Donnell’s recent most publication is Time to Call Home (Veritas) A new poetry collection, A Reluctance to Complain, is due from Salmon in 2025.
The empty stage, a light breeze from somewhere,
dust life, word-husk, fury down to a sigh
and he’s there seated among the unaccounted for
ghosts in the Gate, modestly welcoming
the applause for who he is, always was abundantly,
a suite of human being – lover, saviour
bastard, scamp – wooing the silence with a breath,
a pass, a pause, having it speak for itself.
Hugh O’Donnell’s recent most publication is Time to Call Home (Veritas) A new poetry collection, A Reluctance to Complain, is due from Salmon in 2025.
