Our coldest snap
in fifty years
I skated then
on frozen lakes
with not a thought
of broken ice;
this time around
on solid earth
i dread the thought
of broken bones.

—
Mike Gallagher, an Irish poet, lived in London for forty years. His poetry has been published worldwide and translated into six languages. He won the Michael Hartnett Viva Voce award in 2010 and 2016, the Desmond O’Grady International award in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Hennessy award in 2011. His collection Stick on Stone was published by Revival Press in 2013.