Run Some More

08/05/19

Often would I sit, in a despairing pit
Of my own creation which – chained my spirit to the floor
To escape this mire, I knew I would require
Underneath me a fire – just to get me out the door

See – to live a life sedentary, can depress the soul aplenty
It affects the landed gentry – as it does the poor
But then I read the news, that with just a pair of shoes
You can break out of those blues – if you try to run some more

The thought it made me queasy, that it could be so easy
A disposition made breezy with a jog and nothing more?!
I decided I would try it, though I didn’t fully buy it,
But to keep my demons quiet – it was worth a shot for sure

So with my trainers laced, and my running songs placed
in a list, I then faced – my fears and went to war,
Slowly did I first move, as I got into the groove
And let the rhythm of the tunes – choose the pace I hit the floor

Soon I was pushing through the pavement, every step I made a statement
of this newfound elatement, hot damn – what a score!
I could feel my mindset morphin’, as I came up on endorphins
And without shame or sin?! I should really run some more

With growing confidence came quickened haste
By Odin’s Raven this is great! Why was I told not of this before?
Though I began to feel some pain, as my body it did strain,
Against this relentless train – of might and magic most pure

But no time for doubt or rest, ignore that drumming in your chest,
I’ll beat my personal best – if I can press on and endure,
Then my joints they did rattle as I began to battle
With my mind’s inner-prattle – “slow down!”, it said (what a bore)

Nothing can stop me now, just when I’ve figured how
To plough my energy with such force,
Imagine then my sense of wonder, when I felt a crack of thunder
My body torn asunder – by the gods of excess and more

I started then to feel, in truth… ethereal,
The smoke cleared to reveal what held me back – strewn on the floor
wasting no goodbyes, I took it in my stride,
and cast that mortal coil aside – my spirit free
To run some more

I’m a cat

14/04/19

Meow meow meow
(how do you do)
isn’t it great to be a cat?
I’ve a long swishy tail and sleek black fur
I do a Rolls Royce purr
who doesn’t love that?

dogs I have no time for, heavens above!
with their boundless enthusiasm and unconditional love
it’s a well known fact – the beasts have no tact
and while to them you might be Master
to me darling, you’re staff

you rescued me from obscurity
and a life of boredom on dreary streets
you enjoy spoiling me, I love it myself
it makes my whiskers wiggle
now let me knock every thing off your shelf
…just for shits and giggles

ah I see you’re home
purr purr purr
please feed me right meow you obsequious cur
ah… you got me a cat thing…
that was expensive I’ll bet
not to be unkind but you won’t mind
if I play with the cardboard box instead?
where are my manners, I do say
I have a gift for you too –
it’s in the litter tray

very well, I’ll humour you Human
you may give my belly a rub
but do it for more than just three seconds
and I will fuck
your
shit
up

it’s 5am, meow wake up!
I need to go outside
well thank you dear for opening the door…
but now I see it’s raining
I think I’ve changed my mind

I’m there when you’re happy
I’m there when you’re sad
I’m there on your darkest nights
I’ll purr on your chest to try help you rest
when you’re high as a fucking kite

I’ll intertwine our spirits
as I rub ‘round your legs
the very Shadow of your soul in flux
there are those who would surely beg
for their own little living Horcrux

so when you fuck off

without so much as a farewell
I’ll leave my mark
and haunt your heart
(you can be sure of that)
but do you think I’ll care, or even tell?
bitch please

I’m a cat

I don’t want to know “what’s up”

01/04/19

tell me about the worst day of your life
tell me what do you like to create
in the dead of night
tell me about your favourite book
and why it’s movie was shite
you can tell me things I already know
I’m curious to hear your side
now tell me something that might surprise me
you callipygous delight

sure – what’s between your legs is interesting dear
but right now I’d rather caress what’s between your ears
I wanna hear you say things you never thought of before
and ask you questions that make you wanna ask more
and if it happens that I step too far
then tell me instead why we shouldn’t go to Mars

I wanna know what you think happens when we die
and in return I’ll share with you the last time that I cried
bones points if you ask me something
that makes me stop and think
(hey while I’m musing on that answer
would you like another drink?)

I wanna stay up until the crack of noon
talking about how Firefly ended too soon
tell me about that time that you lost a bet
tell me what are the drugs that you haven’t tried… yet
“I wanna know if this feeling flows both ways”
I wanna grow, and have you point out my mistakes

call me out on my bullshit!
I fucking love it when I’m wrong
tell me that actually that band didn’t write that song
school me hard when your heart is in it
then stare into my eyes for four entire minutes
and when all of that is said and done…
I wanna know what makes you come

I DON’T
want to know “what’s up”
when it comes to that I
don’t
give
a
fuck

don’t text me what you’re doin’ just to get my attention
don’t ask about my plans tonight
(unless you can suggest a correction)
I don’t want a notation of your day-to-day life
that’s one of many reasons I’m not looking for a wife
I love that you’re interested, it really is a plus
but if you haven’t got a point it comes across as vacuous

if you receive a witty remark or a thoughtful flirt
don’t reply with one word – Christ make a feckin’ effort
I don’t want it to seem as though I’m asking for too much
but R.I.P my esteem of you if you just send me a thumbs up

now I know you’re thinkin’ –
“Darragh, who are YOU to complain?”
“your high and mighty rant reeks of supercilious distain”
well at least when I spew bullshit I try to entertain
and it’s not a lot to ask for conversations of quality
cause boring small talk and vapid chit chat
just feed my apathy

So I suppose my point is
(in case I forgot to mention)
really tell me anything but
PLEASE
do it with intention

Poetry Adventures in Barcelona

24/03/19

I was in Barcelona to visit my sister and decided to sign up for the weekly Poetry & Storytelling open mic that runs Thursdays in Pub Limerick. Much like the one I regularly take part in back in Madrid, the standard was high and the people were lovely and incredibly talented. I was given a ten minute slot at the end and picked out three pieces that I thought would go down well, the crowd seemed to enjoy it and I had an absolute blast. The fact that I was just a little wired at the time only added to the experience.

Check out the Poetry & Storytelling Barcelona – Open mic Facebook page

A special shoutout to Wally for capturing it all on video.

“Ramblings of a Savoir Fairy” was the first poem I wrote for the stage and I actually came up with entire thing the last time I was in Barcelona back in October. It’s still my favourite piece so it was nice to bring it full circle and share it with the city that inspired it.

Whenever I perform “Squirrels!” I have to make sure I stay extra focused on whoever I’m talking to afterwards. The poem really highlights my short attention-span and I imagine they’re expecting my mind to wander!

You would not believe the amount of people that have come up to me to take my and scream “YES!” after seeing me perform this at gigs.

Afterwards Maureen, the super host and organiser of the event, asked would I be interested in joining the line up for a bigger night of established poets the following month (when sadly, I wouldn’t be around) and another one of the performers, Zaq Squares, invited me to take part at a concert that he was running the following week – which I would still be in town for!

These were honestly the nicest compliments I’ve received for my poetry yet and something I would never have expected. At his gig Zaq played a mixture of fun covers and his own superbly written songs and I can’t remember the last time I saw someone that good play in a bar. He’s on Spotify and is well worth checking out, and his charming short story about an inchworm that he read out at the poetry night is a pretty funny one too.

At Zaq’s show I was the half-time act. Initially I wasn’t sure how my poems would go down in a busy bar with people who were there for music and the craic, but they really got into it, and I daresay I had their rapt attention throughout. Having lots of them come up to me after to say how much they enjoyed it and what their favourite parts were was quite humbling, and of course we all stuck around for a few beers. Myself and a new Australian friend then ended up having a lock-in with the barman late into the night, don’t ever let it be said that you won’t meet interesting people with poetry! I really couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my last night in town.

**Yes, that is a Danny Dorito on my t-shirt.**

As with the Open Mic night, I’m very grateful for the chance to have done it. It was a ton of fun and the confidence boost I got from the whole experience is helping me define my own style of authentic and unapologetic performance-poetry. The goal now is to work on a brand new set of pieces for when I’m back in May, and Zaq and I are hoping to run another gig together then.

Certainly, Barcelona’s hip poetry scene hasn’t seen the last of me.

Bat

06/03/19

why hello little bat flyin’ ‘round the room
were you here this entire time? what have you been doin’?
did you try to hide from wild eyed lies?
was the banal banter too much to bear?
were you fried by the intensity of our cries
and untouched electricity left hanging in the air?
do you feel that you didn’t get your share?
were you tucked away up there dreaming of all of the things you would dare
do when you would wake?
well the party’s over little bat, you’ve arisen far too late
and all your frantic flutters and romantic stutters
are lost in this hour of wolves

I feel the air ripple little bat as you flit about all sultry
and the pitter patter of leathery matter attacking walls and making curtains scatter
but you can’t stop here! This isn’t bat country
you’re dazed and confused little bat, did you fly too close to the sun?
that star can damage you know, it’s not always loads of fun
were you blinded by the sight of lights that aren’t quite right and now feel a bit fucked?there are certain things that can’t be unseen, and it sure seems like you’re stuck
but!
there’s an open window of opportunity little bat, you just have to stop and look

I still hear your squeaky cries little bat, I wonder who were they for?
do you think anyone discreetly cries for you anymore?
I’m crying for you little bat. I’m crying for us both
what will you do with your freedom
I’ll never know

Rollover

25/02/19

Hey… what were your plans for today?
(and I know you know what I’m about to say)
but I don’t think we’re quite done with our play
which began sometime around… yesterday
If you’re not feeling finished, well that’s no surprise
we’re only getting started if we see the sunrise!

YES you have things to do, and your logic is sound
but this voracious appetite knows no bounds
and while ya can repeat an exam, or leave your work without
you can never relive a good night out
So don’t fret about your future
don’t fill your present with sorrow
we procrastinators are the leaders… of tomorrow!
but today you are mine and I won’t be unkind
so this day and a night and day I will borrow

You owe nothin’ to no-one but your truest self
and I’ll be damned if you’re left up there on that shelf
we vowed not to suffer life’s strife and toil
so let’s now fuck up these mortal coils!
and in exchange for an indeterminate toll?
well, only the best sex drugs and rock’n’roll
be audacious and take your soul for ride
(perhaps with some lysergic acid diethylamide)
and can I just say it would be simply uncouth
to not compliment that orange with a glass of vermouth
or a bottle or five (I don’t really mind)
let’s get it all in while we’re still alive!
and can get some real milage out of our youth

So, you roll that up I’ll run down to the chino
ya gotta make your own luck, that’s one thing we know
reality is boring, so fuck it – let’s have fun
and frolic with satyrs and nymphs in the sun
don’t blink, it’ll fly, that’s true enough
just think of all that’s gone by since you last woke up
it’s ok to want more, there’s nothing amiss
HOW could we possibly be expected to work on a day like this?
So if you’re ready to laugh at the void and dance by the abyss
then take my hand, and just say yes…

A Thousand Kisses Deep (spoken word version)

by Leonard Cohen

You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat
You’d have to be a man to know
How good that feels, how sweet
My mirrored twin, my next of kin
I’d know you in my sleep
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep

I loved you when you opened like a
Lily to the heat
You see I’m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second hand physique
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep

I know you had to lie to me
I know you had to cheat
To pose all hot and hide behind
The veils of sheer deceit
Our perfect porn aristocrat
So elegant and cheap
I’m old but I’m still into that
A thousand kisses deep

I’m good at love, I’m good at hate
It’s in between I freeze
Been working out, but its too late
It’s been too late for years
But you look good, you really do
The pride of Boogie Street,
Somebody must have died for you
A thousand kisses deep

The autumn moved across your skin
Got something in my eye
A light that doesn’t need to live
And doesn’t need to die
A riddle in the book of love
Obscure and obsolete
Until witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep

And I’m still working with the wine
Still dancing cheek to cheek
The band is playing Auld Lang Syne
But the heart will not retreat
I ran with Diz and Dante
I never had their sweep
But once or twice they let me play
A thousand kisses deep

I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat
You see I’m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet
But you don’t need to hear me now
And every word I speak
It counts against me anyhow
A thousand kisses deep

Don’t matter is the road is long
Don’t matter if it’s steep
Don’t matter if the moon goes out
And the darkness is complete
Don’t matter if we lose our way
It’s written that we’ll meet
At least that’s what I heard you say
A thousand kisses deep

Well that’s my story
I admit it’s broken and its bleak
But all the twisted pieces fit
A thousand kisses deep

I wrote this drunk in Paris

21/01/19

I wrote this drunk in Paris in the aftermath of last night
When a fling and I said our last goodbye, and had our final fight.
For this one though don’t shed any tears, it just wasn’t meant to be,
She was a person of unnecessary fears, and I of apathy.

The concept of letting things go was something she hated, it wouldn’t have been a hit,
Whereas I was so emotionally constipated, I just couldn’t have given a shit.
We also had different interests surely, so I’m thinking it wasn’t a surprise,
She liked Charles Dickens and getting up early, I preferred drinking (and sometimes kissing guys).

This trip was well planned though, I was thinking ahead
And if there was a theme I would say it was “death” –
We went to cemeteries, the catacombs and a show in the Bataclan theatre,
But I knew it was a crisis when I started wishing that ISIS
would come back and attack so I wouldn’t have to be with her.

After our last awkward hug I found myself a cool pub, figuring what harm then,
And on the spot I ordered four shots, and proceeded to chat up the cute barman.
Today has been fun – I went for a run, and am determined to make the best of my stay,
I’m now locked in my room to write with some rum, and channel my inner Ernest Hemmingway.

I like Paris! It’s a cool city (even if some might complain),
While I have to admit, it ain’t no Madrid,
There’s certainly worse places to break up with a chick,
And have a story arc of triumph over distain.

Squirrels!

07/12/18

hyperactive squirrels runnin’ ‘round my brain
causing no pain but derailing that train
of thought
that elusive linearity that’s really a formality
demanded by this reality and polite conversation
I ought
to focus more on what I’m doing and who I’m talking to
wait what was I doing and what did they just say to me?
the squirrels scatter
Think of something quick – I’ll ask a question!
Always ask a question to buy yourself some time, for time is cheap
when you cram so much into every second, and your words are
weapons,
to fight back against distractions and negligence
and I’m back on track!
I’m now present.
devoting every bit of my attention to the question
by wrestlin’ cognitive control, lettin’ my thoughts come and go,
like a meditation pro, and it’s just me and the other person.
the only two people in the universe
I look into their eyes to let them know I’m there
(which is fair, cause I really DO care!)
And there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
And I blink
blinking breaks the eye contact and in that millisecond
I wander
just slightly, to the feeling of skin healing down yonder
that’s what I get for frying bacon naked
I wonder did she ever fake it?
why do I fall in love with every person that I meet?
why bother falling in love when I can fall asleep!
is everything that’s in front of me really all there is to see?
Am I finally the person that I want to be?
I’m now drifting freely through memories and possibilities
and scurrying up the bark of a large oak tree
and I know I nearly have enough acorns to last me the winter
and SQUIRRELS! Ye feckers!
Be gone!
I will be strong I will stay focused on…on…
…ah shite I’ve been away again for far too long
how are your powers so potent?!
you adorable fluffy-tailed coked-out rodents
robbing me of my sincerity
Will you not just let me be
present?

This repeats in my life, over and over
and if you think this is bad… well…
that’s me when I’m sober

Ramblings of a Savoir Fairy

Recorded at Poetry & Storytelling Barcelona 14/03/19

24/10/18

I am the very model of a fairly wired Irishman,
cheeky yet polite, and a bit of a contrarian,
I always have a lot to say but rarely seem to finish,
even though I speak at a million miles a minute.

Shakespeare said brevity is the soul of wit,
Well no offence Bill that’s a load of shit,
Give all the details and be sure to take your time,
You’ll always get away with if you can make it rhyme.

The key to life and to really being happy
is to take things in your stride, even if it’s crappy,
Give the world your love, to the girls and the guys
(how can ya know if you never really tried?!)

Well-worded flattery will get you everywhere,
It’s something that the French call “Savoir Fair”,
be eloquent, confident, go overboard with merriment,
don’t think about the consequence, just act like you don’t care!

Fake it til you make it, if you have to overstate it,
Also use big words, it’s not that complicated!
Like “superfluous curses”, they won’t fuckin mind this,
If all else fails, just kill ’em all with kindness.

Be creative with your pain, that’s something I have seen,
So the upcoming verse I need to make about me,
It’s a poem within a poem called “16 things to do with you”
But wait before I say it there’s one thing I have to do.

“Kinder eggs, chem-sex,
dark obsessions, skinny legs
excess, control,
star signs, the wild unknown,
betrayal, heartbreak
forgiveness, mistakes,
the moon, vermouth
Love hurts, and so does the truth”

Onwards and upwards! If you’re trying to move on,
Just take all your feels and pain and stick it a song,
or a poem or a story or a painting on your wall,
If nothing else works then try a voodoo doll.

Still be a good lover, if you’re treated like an ass,
Don’t take it to heart – nice guys come last,
That double entendre came way over your heads,
Forget about it, just allow it, let me make this point instead.

I believe that you get back what you put out,
Keep em laughing, have the craic, and you will never doubt,
That your friends are the family that you get to choose,
If you haven’t found them yet, what have have ya got to lose?
Say hi to a stranger, and straight away you’ll know ‘em
And if you’re going through hell, well just keep goin’.

Don’t ever listen to me, Christ that would really scare me,
These are just the ramblings of a Savoir Fairy.
But we can always be thankful, we don’t even have to try,
Think you need proof? YOU. ARE. ALIVE.

I know I talk, far more than I should,
But hey whatever it is you do… Do it good.