Eva Griffin
Eva Griffin is a poet living in Dublin. In 2020 she was selected as a Poetry Ireland Introductions Series poet by Vona Groarke. Her debut pamphlet ‘Fake Hands / Real Flowers’ was published by Broken Sleep Books.
I’ve been to this party before
in a distant past we danced
you spun me by the palace gates
& said: take the memories with you
& I fell through it all, this same dream
we meet again, small stars
in the constellation of youth
floating like love, like this cascade
from the balcony: pink-frilled
& oh, a view of the moon behind us
listen, before you speak & crystals
come breaking down your tongue
spit-slicked shining,
I need you to know:
all fairy tales are about possession
who does not want & go sick with it?
I wake up masked & wondering
a glove slipped hand in my head
the suit again, spinning, slow dancing
a princess, then, & I was him
yes — a beam of light from the rafters
a looking down from an old promise
please accept my humble presence
it was for you the table set
this garden of roses pruned
this thorn in my bleeding palm
tell me all is not fleeting
while the flowers rot
tell me we were worth it
this long life & these confused nights
you, screaming: your turn to save me
& your turn to save me & your turn to
save me & your turn to save me &