I caught myself
captive
in chains
in a cold corner
of comfortless
complacency,
unconscious
to the cost
on my character
as I cut the cord
to connection.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
Poetry
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.12, NAPOWRIMO
I had a hand
in every bone
that was broken
on this body.
I had a hold
of every hack
that was heaped
into this heart.
I held that hand
while thinking of another
once forgotten
before imagining someone else
I hadn’t even met,
as you watched out the window
as connection passed you by.
We are not broken by others,
it all depends on how willing
we are to bend, be bent
or play blind.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 11, NAPOWRIMO
When I was a boy
under blankets
I twisted through dreams
that turned on me
soft and slow
as if time
had slipped from my hands
in my desire to turn
from boy to man
but now I wonder if time
was warning me
of the ties
that get lost
when we try to outrun
our fears.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 10, NAPOWRIMO
I hear you
preaching
still
from your performance
pulpit,
the shit-pit of sermon
where you scared
the simple man.
I hear you
still
preaching
of parish and prayer
with your manners moody
at mass
with the mouldable masses.
Years later
over dinner
and before dessert
you spilt your sins
between the bread and wine,
your collar in the car
and your blessed ring
upon your manhood.
We can dress in robes,
we can fuck who we want,
but you can’t preach before the choir
if you take boys in for hire.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 9, NAPOWRIMO
I am not comfortable
when placed on pillars
of wonderment,
positioned by people
who cannot see
how far it is for me
to fall.
Birds are born
to be a favourite of flight
whereas I am just
bound to the fall;
featherless and frail.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 8, NAPOWRIMO
In sweeping rain
he was swept through streets
in a taxi turning with thoughts
he had not yet learned to express.
Windows can shield
from more than just the weather.
In unswept rain
he was sweeping through streets
that had not yet soaked him,
had not yet drained him
on the storms that were settling
under the shade of summer.
He was a spring in the bloom
in the shadow of a back seat,
speeding through streets
already stained with too many winters.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 7, NAPOWRIMO
In the shadows
not yet departed
from former students
since departed
confined in compartments
the Polish left to the Irish,
red vinegar wine
(as vulgar as the vultures
who drowned in its deluge)
caught itself in corners
still not drunk
by the blow-ins
still bleating
about the burnt beef
and sodden soil
as we made smoke chains
in our simple chambres
to choke a distance
between the homes we had left
and the hands that hadn’t
yet let us go. We may have been
from the same barrel born
but had desires to be labeled
in a better bottle.
All words and drawing by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 6, NAPOWRIMO
I remember the grass
damp and dark
(like your hold)
below my back
as I sat and envied the stars
for their lightness.
I remember the grass
heavy and harsh
(like your hand)
upon my back
as I sat and envied the stars
for their ability
to shine through all that darkness.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 5, NAPOWRIMO
I slipped from birth
wet with tears
into arms
stretched out in hope,
from womb to ward
to other woman,
I slipped from birth
into being;
being had,
being held,
being handed over,
to being held again.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.4, NAPOWRIMO
I thought I would learn something more fortuitous
than just fear
in those hollow halls
I learned to hate,
but books were not bats
when boys became bullies.
Fragility can grow like strength
but the wonder we weigh
on the fragile flower
only overshadows
the tears that stem
beneath to petals.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 