‘Few Trees Have Been Harmed in the Making of this Poem’ by Gráinne Tobin

after ‘Downfall’ by Siobhán Hapaska

Strictly speaking I’m dead,
torn out of the soil
that kept me going.

Laid out, waked,
in a clear white space,
held horizontal by thin cables
of polished steel.

Beaded olives hang from my branches.
I have been made an airborne
image of myself.

My fallen leaves, my web of dusty roots
are carefully displayed.
Nothing’s wasted, nothing living dies,
nothing is created or destroyed.

I am modest as a dancing bride,
fruitful as a matriarch.
I hold it all in balance.
There is life after me.

From issue #2: spring/summer 2016

About the Author
Gráinne Tobin lives in Newcastle, Co Down. Her two poetry collections from Summer Palace Press are Banjaxed (2001) and The Nervous Flyer’s Companion (2010). She’s been given awards from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and a residency at the Tin Jug Studio in Birr.