Three Poems by Poet Eileen Moynihan
1. Absence of Light
Is your green light on?
So nothing’s wrong – reassured,
I smile and drift to sleep.
Your daily light helps fight
The darkness, knowing you’re there
Somewhere in the vastness.
Your green light isn’t on—
Something’s wrong… I’m worried,
And sleep won’t come.
Your missing light fills me
With a deepening dread.
Are you still there… anywhere?
The green light stays off,
Panic sets in, and I fear
The worst scenarios.
Day after day, I wait for
News that never arrives.
I reach out to others…
They know you well,
But will they share
News of your sudden demise,
Or of you telling me lies?
Do they ponder who I am?
Am I just being foolish?
Days pass with no green light,
And hope is nowhere in sight.
Bereft and forlorn,
Each day, I step out, trying
To ignore my swirling thoughts.
Heart racing, I hesitate—then, a glow:
The green light is there!
2. Illumination
Soft silver slivers of light,
Illuminate the darkened room.
I peep through half-closed slits,
At the glistening bright full moon.
As I lift the creaking blinds,
The moon’s mantle of light,
Wraps me in consolation,
Loving peace holds me tight.
You’ve gone, passed on;
I cried when you came home,
Cried that you didn’t walk in,
Your return was not alone.
“I think I’ve turned a corner,”
You said after each setback.
You fought so hard, but…we knew
You weren’t coming back.
Dad was there to greet you
On your 93rd birthday.
You went to spend it with him,
You quietly slipped away.
But I feel your presence,
Shining in the celestial glow,
Everywhere around me,
Twinkling here and now.
3. Red Velvet
In all the years she never knew
Which way the wind really blew.
She sniffed the breezy, blowy air
As she ventured from her lair.
Hunger filled her bony frame.
Someone gently called her name.
“Velvet…Velvet. Here’s a treat.
A lovely piece of juicy meat.”
Firm friends they became over time,
Fear forgotten, trust sublime.
‘Til one day a wind of change,
Hunters saw her in their range.
Charlie wept at the bloody end
Of Red Velvet, his beautiful friend.
In all the years she never knew
Which way the wind really blew.
Bio for Eileen Moynihan: Eileen Moynihan was born in Chelmsford, Essex, England, UK. At the age of three she moved with her family to the Isle of Wight. At eighteen Eileen went to La Sainte Union, Teachers Training College, in Southampton. Whilst Eileen was at college her parents moved to Ireland, (her father was Irish). Eileen moved to Ireland in 1978 when she had gained her Bachelor of Education degree.
After a while Eileen gained a permanent job in Bantry, Co. Cork as a teacher of one of the first Special Classes attached to a mainstream school in Ireland. Eileen met her future husband in Bantry and they got married in 1981. They had 3 children born between 1982- 1989. In 1983 the family moved to Drimoleague, Co. Cork and then moved to Baltimore Co. Cork in 1987.
In 1998 Eileen received a Diploma in Special Education from St. Patrick’s College of Education in Dublin after doing a year’s course. She continued working in Bantry until 2002. Eileen then started teaching as a Resource Teacher in a small country school near Skibbereen, Co. Cork. She took early retirement from teaching in 2007.
In 2009 Eileen and her husband moved to Termonbarry on the border of Counties Longford and Rosscommon. Eileen had always written stories and poems since she was a young child.
After early retirement she began to write children’s stories. She joined Longford Writers Group and also joined S.C.B.W.I Ireland.
To date Eileen has written 7 children’s books and a collection of poetry, as well as having her work in many anthologies.
Eileen believes in creativity, imagination, education and community.