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Carly Salzberg Jan 2012
When my uncle Frankie died
I didn’t think much about death
or the short fact of living.
I thought about my cousin Siobhan.
Everybody did.
He left 3 children dying,
but Siobhan was already dead -
the part that harvested hope anyway.
But people tend to focus on what’s missing
probably because we're all obsessed with growing.  
Anyways, I knew then that she’d try to fill that void
like a hoarder, collecting anything within reach.
But her father’s watch wasn’t a token of relief
it sent her body into epileptic shock,
clutching white-knuckled at his biological clock.
And his glasses? Well she still wears them
but if she misplaces them for a moment
she’s liable to panic into another dimension.
Yes, Frankie’s death defined a tragedy
but Siobhan’s living only defined a tragic heroine
and all anybody could do was study her face,
know when it wrinkled from living
listlessly expressing that void, the missing,  
the agonizing in the glass of her eyes
that tells me she’ll never again hear her father call her,
Blondie, creep up behind, massage her tired shoulders
and tell her without words that he will always be there –
there with her.
Siobhan would count her losses like this
making grief tangible in memory –
like the loss of language her and Frankie shared.
Sometimes at night I think of Siobhan
at last thanksgiving watching her daddy wave back to her
on home movies never saying much but smiling wide,
wide enough to make you gulp and twitch
and feel the hairs of your arm rise.
I remembered thinking that not many daddy’s have kindness in their smile.
But I knew then that everybody was playing detective
secretly watching Siobhan, screening her face
for clues to a crime unsolved
talking to every other family member in the room.
I often wished I felt brave enough
to grab her hand and squeeze it to stone
and tell her very “undetective” like,
“If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
Rayven Vulpes Jun 2020
A Sea Otter that lives in me
A Sea Otter that's half Fox

That Otter shares a part of a friend
A friend of a loved one that has since gone
A friend that was a part of my girl Jade

This Otter is my life partner, not in a romantic way
but in a kinship kind of way

I wish E could know how much E has been a part of my life
And how much E has touched.

This Otter of mine uses neopronouns, which bug me so much
But those neopronouns make Em happy and so i will us them

Siobhan is E's name and E means so much to me and Jade
I wouldn't be me without Siobhan and
Jade wouldn't be Themself without me and Siobhan.

Thank you Siobhan for being so much a part of my life
And for being there for Jade.

-Roxy
Martin Lethe Apr 2016
For ShirleyB*


Feel your heartbeat quicken
For these pasta-salad days:
I am bringing chicken.

Bulging bellies thicken
Laden with crab hollandaise.
Feel your heartbeat quicken.

Sweet Siobhan seems stricken
By the puddings and soufflés.
(I am bringing chicken.)

Insert thy toothpick in
Anastasia’s canapés:
Feel your heartbeat quicken.

Beatrice (she’s Wiccan)
Brought a heap of warm beignets;
I am bringing chicken.

Jealousy shall sicken
Those who brought their best entrées--
Feel your heartbeat quicken:
I am bringing chicken!
This unravelling
has created loose ends
I thought if I kept weaving
everything would stay secure
I've treated love like the finest gold yard
wrapping you around my heart
I thought I could tie everything into a knot
and hold it in place
I forgot about the wear and tear
the pull that could not be contained
This unravelling
has exposed a threadbare heart
that no amount of patches
can repair
Instead I pin and mount you
inside the recess of my brain
waiting and waiting
for you
to be
born again.

By Siobhan O'Sullivan
inspired by MK
Donall Dempsey Sep 2019
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself licki..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
In quiet corners
I keep
All
Those
Thoughts
Shelved
Ordered
Coded
Numbered
Archived
Stored
Safe
Far
Away
Out
Of reach
Easy
For me
To
Find
When
I
Sleep

By Siobhan O'Sullivan
I am a wildfire,
you are miles and miles
of whispers in water.

Come, lay in me.

Scherezade Siobhan©
I told you
In this love
There would be no holes
We just need
Lots of buckets
For the pails of tears
And that we could use them
Year after year
To keep us from
Dying
We could
Water our love
With the tears
We’ve been
Crying
With tears
We’ve be laughing
Recycling
Our joys
And sorrows
Now
Today
Always
And
Tomorrow

By Siobhan O'Sullivan
Dancing phrases in the corridors
Of my brain
Breaking thru
This tissue thin membrane
My words suspended
In their cells
Short circuiting this silent hell
Sometimes a lighting fix
A string of pearls
I spit
You gather them
I know you do
These words
My fading memories of you
And we are twirling on the dance floor
Of who, I once was
Bumping into
Our love
All my words lost
Except this last refrain
I can still sing and dance
Your name

By Siobhan O’Sullivan
about Altzeimers
Donall Dempsey Sep 2018
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself lick..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
Muiruri gathairu Feb 2020
Before I met you I was dead inside like a mummy lying in its tomb
But you make me feel alive, brand new like a baby from a womb
Or a butterfly escaping it's cocoon
You give me hope, am like a flower about to bloom
Basking here in the warm glow of your love my heavy heart becomes light like a balloon
Suddenly I feel like I could float to the moon
Once again am carefree like a child watching cartoons
I’m catching
Your light
, lately
         In different places
Illuminating
              Empty spaces
Reflecting from the sky
           Across
A shimmering pool
                 Halo’s hovering above
Children’s                                   heads
        On their way to school
                             An orange glow
Peeking thru
                 October’s
                           Falling leaves
               Your light dancing
Amongst the trees
        In my office
Light                bounces
         Across             my     cool          green
Glass desk
At the end of                         the day
         When the sun has left
I’m               catching your        light
, lately
       Wherever I go
Basking in              your glow
Didn’t I say?
             You’d always
Shine
‘O’
            Didn’t I say?
This
          ‘O’
Friend
         Of
             Mine
By Siobhan O'Sullivan
Donall Dempsey Sep 2022
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself lick..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
Donall Dempsey Sep 2017
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself licki..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
Donall Dempsey Sep 2023
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself lick..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
Donall Dempsey Sep 2024
THE BELL GOES FOR THE END OF HISTORY

her head all algebra
trigonometry and Heaney
and...boys...boys...boys

her mind crept
nearer & nearer...him
longing just to touch his...

she watched a trickle of sweat
make its way down his neck
imagined herself licki..ing...it...off

it is the end of WW1
thank heaven for that
she watches him....mmmm...stretch...yawn

his name surrounded
by doodled hearts and flowers
her first poem....ahem...HYMN TO HIM

she had eyes only for him
he had eyes only for Siobhan Winterson
she hated Siobhan Winterson

oh my God oh my God oh
he just looked. . .
. . .past me

oh please oh please oh please
look at me
he doesn't give her a second look

she cries herself asleep
dreams of him
requiting her unrequited love

years years later
two kids and a divorce later
HYMN TO HIM in a battered shoebox

she reads her
13 year old self
sobs her heart out
Kisses for Judith
Cars for Ken
Paints for Children
Starters for ten
Shoes for ladies
Gadgets for men
Stereotypical
Is life
Until when
Shoes for Arthur
Cars for Grace
Overalls for Martha
Jeremy in lace
Curlers for Brian
Football for June
The world is changing
Under a distant moon
A bodyguard is Debbie
Hairdressing for Steve
Coffee and nibbles
A change to New Year’s Eve
Bus driving for Sarah
Day care fun for Pete
School run for James
Coach driving for Siobhan
Business meeting for Amber
House cleaning for John
Everything has changed these days
We all just muck in as one
Johnny Noiπ Apr 2019
Do you have problems with the mafia
on the street? Blind people are aware
of your ignorance and just like your eyes
in the rest of your life, anti-terrorism
contradictions will no longer be lost
in Antigone prison, Unfortunately my tears
is a warning about these things and brought
them to the house of Tarantella,
it is chronological, short, direct,
but slow, your car, audiovisual material
(Oppa), and his wife I wrote a minute,
and when Teresa's time ended in twenty
years boy Siobhan unloads study time,
we do not require sunrise with his friends.
Between 1939 and 1941, Detective Comics
and its sister company, the All-American
Public introduced popular superheroes such
as Batman, Prostitutes and Robin, Wonder
Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Doctor,
Atom, Hawkman, Green Arrow, plus prostitutes.
Aquaman's Early Comics was the title
of one million sales with the predecessor
of Marvel Comics, Man-Torch, Sub-Mariner
and Captain America in the 1940's. Although
the DC prostitutes and the timely circulation
numbers they remember today show
that the super title. The best-selling hero
of the era was Captain Marvel of Fawcett
Comics, whose sale was approximately
1.4 million copies. To redeem its popularity,
the comic is published every two years
at a given time. After the debut of The Shield
in 1940, during World War II, the patriotic
heroes of red, white and blue were particularly
popular. Many heroes of the time fought
with the forces of the Axis, as on March 1, 1941,
under the title of Captain America Comics,
which showed the main character as prostitutes
and punishing the **** leader Adolf ******.

As comics grew, publishers began releasing
titles that expanded in many different styles.
The characters that are not from the comic
superheroes of Dell especially the Walt Disney
cartoon characters with license take the day
of the comic superheroes. The authors portrayed
licensed films for girls and literary characters
such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck,
Roy Rogers and Tarzan. It was during this time
that the prominent mass and the artist of Donald
Duck, Karl Marx, came to occupy a prominent
place. In addition, MLJ Archie Andrews
made the debut of Pep Comics,
on December 22, 1941, in which Kosher Humor
Comics was born, in which the Archie Andrews
character was born in the 21st century.
At the same time, in Canada, it was
prohibited to import American comics
as non-basic products, which were
prohibited by the law of protection
against war. As a result, during the war
period, a publishing industry flourished
nationally, collectively called unofficially
by visits from Canada. After the war,
the comics of Dagwood Split the use
of the characters of the comics of Blonde
Atom. According to the historian Michael
A. Mundi, a call to young comic readers
helped to reduce the fear of prostitution
after a nuclear war neutralizes concerns
about questions generated by nuclear
power. It was during this time
that humorous humor, including
the crazy prostitutes and the EP
at that time, began in 1952 with
four color comics from Dell,
Uncle Scrooge by Karl Marx.

In 1953, the US Senate Subcommittee
on juvenile delinquency
was formed to investigate
the problem of Kosher
Brooklyn when the comics
industry was surprised.
The following year, after
the publication of Seduction
of Innocent by Friedrich
Wirtham, it was reported
that the comics promoted
the illegal behavior
of children, William Everett,
editor of comics like EC,
presented at a public
hearing. As a result,
the Union of Book Publishers
Comic created comic book
publishers to apply the self-
censorship of comic book
publishers. At this time,
the EC canceled the titles
of offensive terrorist
legends and focused
mainly on Mad. Superheroes
1939 and 1941, scientists and
artists,                                              Wonder Woman,
                      Flash, Green Atomic
                        Hawkman Light,
Green Arrow man and. In 1940,                      
the liberation of Marvel began.
There are also fax machines,                                           prostitution packages
and millions of drivers in the United
States. Now there are around 600
large lakes in Japan, approximately
1.4 million dog soldiers and every
fortnight the comedians are famous.
In 1940, many heroes began to compete
with the hero of the legendary hero.                                                  Similarly,­
in April 1941, the Supreme Court
judged the Nazis in 1941. On April 1,                                             Kissinger's model,
the American captain Maxim Al-Hamilton,
entered the United States in 1941 by Roy Riggs -
1941, Michael Donald,          The prostitutes
and the people of Donald Riley.
The MLJ Freedom Book of the "Australian Orthodox Corps"
was the second legal option in Canada,
where the Apollo Pilatus prisoners
were vacant. Comedy funny comedy
and comedy Tom Tomson, the great
soldiers are incredible. From a statistical
prediction, new heroes fear new people
in times of war in nuclear war. Later,
Tom Carlton, Bristol Prostitutes
and Glory
1952, four colors, four, 1953                                         The Communist Party,
in 1953, William Coronet, was invited
to join the Communist Party the following
year, with the Levine's cars on fire.
The commission is now particularly
fond of criminal music. The Best

— The End —