andromeda quarters
by John O'Halloran
listless, sinking sandfish sun
themselves in aquarium deep shores,
lovers float like kelp in shallow
marooned rockpools;
the hint of a dream pulls at my cuff.
in it i'm as quiet as you
as my thumpy boots recline.
i reign in my words to form a necklace
for your coronation.
rain rushes down a drain like wasting love.
the stars are paid so little attention,
only by prospectors that crave their lustrous ice.
the Pleiades dance in a ring, merrily --
would i wish to spoil their mirth with my thoughts?
in indolent woods i sit, and not stir a branch;
my trance will bring meaning, and breath,
and poems enunciated as starlight.
Copyright © 2003, John O'Halloran
Andromeda
by John Flamsteed
John O'Halloran came to the U.S.A. from Dublin Ireland on a soccer scholarship and, after graduating with a M.A. in literature from Sangamon State University, Springfield, IL, spent a year teaching English in Japan. He's presently a freelance writer and building sub-contractor living in Weymouth, Massachusetts with his wife, Denise, a fine arts photographer, and their son, Taro. John also spends time writing and recording music. He's won several awards for poetry, including Poet of the Year in Springfield, Illinois. His poems have appeared in Mid-America Review, Moon Reader, Harp Strings Poetry Journal, and Prism Galliard.