Anne Walsh Donnelly On The Personal Journey In Poetry

Today we publish another previously unpublished poem by Featured Artist Anne Walsh Donnelly. This poem will feature in her forthcoming debut chapbook collection, The Woman With An Owl Tattoo.

Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos on Unsplash

Mná na hÉireann (Women of Ireland)

To die not having known the frenzy
of making love with a woman
is to live without ever jumping
over the bar of your crib.

How could you not want
to watch a woman fling her underwear
on your bedroom floor
present you with soft skin

for your nails and teeth
to score like blades on dough.
How could you not want
to feel your edges

slip into her hollows, like a spoon
folding flour into cake batter.
How could you not want
to hear her whimper,

crescendo to a jungle roar
while your fingers move inside her.
How could you not want
a denouement to your play,

when secret stories leak onto ivory sheets
then tease tongues and start the sequel.
How could you not want
to drag a woman to bed

at seven on a Saturday evening
rise at two on Sunday afternoon,
sleep-deprived
and smelling like a marathon runner,

race outside to tackle
weedy flower beds
gleeful that soil will not rest
in your clipped fingernails.

Anne says of this poem, “it is one of my favourite pieces. I wrote it shortly after I first made love with a woman. It was such a joyful experience I had to celebrate it in a poem. I was brought up in a society that considered having sex with a person of the same gender was sinful and abnormal. Hence I unconsciously supressed my true sexual identity. It was only at age fifty that I became more aware of my attraction to women and began to explore what that meant for me as a woman. I am a much happier and more fulfilled person as a result of taking that challenging journey.”