Seamus O' Brian

Seamus O' Brian Poems

If you knew who I was now
When I knew who you were then
Would you forgive me before
We ever became them?
...

The branches dance in the wind,
The ones outside my window
Across from my desk.
I suppose you know the trees
...

Sleep, my son, and dream of when
we will trace the alpine glens,
and walk upon the wildest ways
where bears have trod, but seldom men.
...

This tortuous canyon coiling its jagged edges
razors through the sinewed sediments,
deluvinations of painful fomentations
plowing through acres of rock and soil
...

these eyes, the spyglass of tomorrow's horizons
gazing today, even now, bronze-bound discs of living glass,
glazed and rimmed in the hazing blast of yesterday's furnace
to see, not merely with eyes of insentient flesh, but with sight
...

The ocean ends here,
but feels strongly otherwise.
Across cliffs stacked sternly
against her violent intentions
...

slender green shoot
shoulders aside mass of snow
finds a breath of spring
...

I will disappear into the memory of the wind;
I will fold myself into the gilded leaves of dawn;
reach for my bones and you will grasp a handful
of morning; seize my flesh and you will find
...

when words fail
a cabal of stones
obsidian edged
gather in the mesh
...

how strangely quiet this space
between words
when poems are inhaled,
absorbed;
...

I celebrate International Women's Day, not because there is some inherent necessity to elevate the concept of womanhood, for women are a creation of the same Mind and Hands that cast all the wonders of the universe across the sea of nothingness, as perfect in their conception and teleologically complete in their existence as anything in the manifestation of all creation.

I celebrate International Women's Day in the same way that I celebrate all of the beautiful wonders and amazing marvels displayed in the panoply of this existence, surely distinct each in its own right, but by no means separate or divorced from the whole─by no means an entity that requires the effort of anyone to enhance the glory of its own essential qualities.
...

A gust of wind catches a fragment of paper
chases it around a funnel of nothing
then skips away to tussle the last sunflower
petal of September, and a drive-way parked dog
...

We play our game again,
You and I.
Could you love again?
With a smile.
...

You were the smallest
of us.

You were the butterfly born
...

I sent my heart to you
With the click of a key
Depressed in its slot
As if it were any other point
...

a train's slow bellow
pushing through the city sounds
complains of loneliness
...

We glut our living into the moments of every day;
The footfalls of our scurried existence
Pounding out the years one after the other
All the while chin over our shoulders peering
...

I am a reader of bad poetry.

I can't help myself;
I am irresistibly drawn
...

There will come a moment
When two halves of the pelvis
Of your past and your future
Will thrust out a life
...

The Best Poem Of Seamus O' Brian

Conditional

If you knew who I was now
When I knew who you were then
Would you forgive me before
We ever became them?
If you gathered in the harvest—
Stacked and counted the bales
of our soul-searing pain,
Numbered the bushels
Of our flesh-scalding tears,
Compacted the silos
of loneliness, doubts, fears-
If you could have counted the cost,
Would you have sown the first seed?
If you factored in lies, betrayal, mistrust,
Could you ever have loved me
Before they became us?

Seamus O' Brian Comments

Bill Cantrell 25 December 2016

By far the best poetry I have been privalleged to have read are the ones written by Seamus, what depth he has and his statements and questions will carry the reader on a journey, I only wish I could write with such skill. My friend, you are the real thing.

2 0 Reply
Tan Pratonix 05 October 2016

Brilliant talent. Some exquisite poems. I find it very hard to come across good poetry on Poemhunter. A joy to read some rare gems by this writer and poet.

1 0 Reply
Nosheen Irfan 01 December 2016

You possess great poetic skills. I'm very impressed with your work and i'm learning a lot from you. Your command on vocabulary is enviable and your expression captures the soul of your thoughts n feelings. Keep writing n inspiring.

1 0 Reply
Bharati Nayak 10 November 2018

Let me quote from his poem'Conditional'- If you knew who I was now When I knew who you were then Would you forgive me before We ever became them? If you gathered in the harvest— Stacked and counted the bales of our soul-searing pain, Numbered the bushels Of our flesh-scalding tears, Compacted the silos of loneliness, doubts, fears- If you could have counted the cost, Would you have sown the first seed?

0 0 Reply
Bharati Nayak 10 November 2018

Seamus O Brian is one of the most brilliant poet of Poem Hunter Site.From the very beginning since my I entry into this Site, I have been mesmerized by Seamus O Brians poems which are extremely beautiful in poetic expression and deep in thought. His poems will charm you, puzzle you, challenge you and take you along a beautiful poetic journey.I have been honored by some of the most lovely comments he has given on my poems.

0 0 Reply
Rini Shibu 04 March 2018

Seamus is a very talented poet.. his poems are amazing and mind blowing.

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Glen Kappy 25 February 2018

Neal, who goes by Seamus O'Brian here in Poemhunter, is just one of a few poets posting here who makes me wonder if/when the PH people promote someone to the Modern Poet Poem of the Day category. His best poems stand up against those of the more famous poets I hold in high regard. If you haven't discovered this for yourself, read him. You don't have to agree with me, but I think you will. -Glen

0 0 Reply
S.zaynab Kamoonpuri 09 July 2017

Hi poet. Thanks for the supportive words. You are a great poet with real interesting poetry that makes us want more all the time so we will keep coming back to you. Cheers and best wishes.

1 0 Reply

Seamus O' Brian Quotes

When there is power without justice, security becomes fear.

It is the duty of every man to shine what light he has on the darkness of injustice. For he who wears the badge of poet, that light is the power of his word.

The gift of poetry lies as much in the eyes as in the pen. To speak, we must first see.

Poor choices lead to shallow graves

In the end, we do what we want to do. Excuses are the lies we tell ourselves to protect us from that reality.

I do not wish to possess what you would desire, but I wish to be what you desire to become.

Seamus O' Brian Popularity

Seamus O' Brian Popularity

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