Brian Kirk – “Absence”

Absence
for Sally

Every morning I look for you,
even though I know you’re gone.
The places where you sat
still hold your image. I know
that it will fade in time, but not just yet.
I’m like a hermit of old in the desert
accosted by visions, interpreting signs,
looking for meaning that doesn’t exist.
I was happy to let you go, but I wasn’t prepared
for this loss: the punch in the gut, the ache
in the heart, as if you were my child.
You were a cat, a pet, an animal that lived
with us and could have lived without us
just as well. Without trying you did more
for us than we could ever do for you.

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Brian Kirk is a poet and writer from Dublin. He has published a poetry collection, After The Fall (Salmon Poetry, 2017) and a short fiction chapbook, It’s Not Me, It’s You (Southword Editions, 2019). His poem “Birthday” won Poem of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2018. He blogs at www.briankirkwriter.com.

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