Carlow poet Maresa Sheehan in top three at of Red Line Poetry Competition

A Carlow poet has placed in the top three of the Red Line Poetry Competition.

Maresa Sheehan’s ‘Wishbone’ saw her take the third spot in the event organised by the Red Line Book Festival.

The annual offering aims to celebrate the very best in local, national and international writing with 40 literary events and an eclectic mix of established writers and rising voices.

She read her piece (read it yourself below) at the Poetry Night and Poetry Awards at Castleymon Library where the winners were revealed.

WISHBONE By Maresa Sheehan

You’ve done what the doctors’ prescribed,

flexed your veins and let the drugs drip in.

And now you need luck.

So go sway in a September orchard

where apples wink at two magpies,

and drupelets of blackberry plip-

drip from their mouth to yours.

Let your swing be a wishbone,

sitting you snug in its lap as you fling

back your hair and toss up your toes

towards a kind Autumn sun.

There will be a ladder that will lean

very close against a tree, perfect

for you to climb and harvest,

but impossible to walk beneath.

Fly to him magpies — he needs luck now.