CITYBOUND Poem by Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh

Returning tonight
I can taste the city's sweat
around me.

I like its sweetness.

The Present Tense bounces
recklessly off walls
in the heat of the afternoon.

I admit toxic fumes
intoxicate me.

Although you don't see
the setting sun here
in the vast expanse of sky

night plunges
between tall buildings
without warning.

but neon lights light up
the foreign corners of my heart.

Faoiseamh a gheobhadsa
on a moonlit ledge
my ear tuned to traffic's song.