REBEL POETRY

The winner of the 2014 festival competition, chosen by Gene Barry, was Assistant Professor at the American University of Rome and Assistant Professor at the John Cabot University, Daniel Roy Connelly who travelled from Rome to read at the Fermoy International Poetry Festival.    

 

Stuff The Poet Dreams on

 

Standing in front of the sponsor’s board
a dozen or so big-brand logos totally obscured
by the one-hand-on-the-money-the-other-on-Barbados grin
that cuts The Poet’s head clean in two
The Poet’s own primetime show, an hour a week
during which The Poet smokes a few
and starts to write poetry on anything to hand
there are dozens of markers pens and post-it notes
audience members with sheets of paper, studio walls, crazy stuff
in order to be, as it were, The Poet, before the public
is invited to dissect The Poet’s work
while The Poet remains silent in fact
The Poet leaves the television centre altogether
to return home to The Poet’s laptop
Appearing in a picture-heavy
magazine on an Asian beach
with a mystery blond
Poet Casts Love Spell!
A tea-time slot on Test Match Special
at the deciding Ashes test
So England are 131 for 8
what do you make of that, Poet?
Someone, finally, at a midweek reading in an
independent bookstore in Kircaldy or somewhere else
having the balls to say
You are actually a shit poet, Poet

 

©Daniel Roy Connelly