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I've Been Flâneuring Again

 
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Winter Visitor

You were an angel and you came to see me Dressed in gold and hiding your wings, You were an angel and the things you told me Were things that only an angel sings. You were an angel and you came to save me From the city and its arrows and slings, You were an angel and the gifts you gave me Were gifts that only an angel brings. ©Brian Ahern 2026

Seeing Out the Year

                                            

The House by the Churchyard

This grand old house  (pictured)   on Main Street, Chapelizod, in the city of Dublin, wouldn't look out of place on Merrion or Mountjoy Square. Sadly though, its windows are broken and steel girders wrap around it to stop its collapse. In 2021 An Taisce (the National Trust for Ireland) listed it among Ireland's Top 10 Most-at-Risk buildings. If the house were a person, it would be described as close to death with a 'do not resuscitate' order placed upon it.  An amazing feature of the house's history is that it is the setting for Sheridan Le Fanu's 1863 novel The House by the Churchyard. Per Wikipedia: 'The work inspired several later Irish writers, including James Joyce and Bram Stoker, who drew upon its Gothic horror and suspense features for their own novels. It has been considered by many critics as a precursor to the psychological horror genre.'  So,   in terms of literary cachet the house is up there with Joyce's House of the Dead on Usher's...

A Couple of Snaps

 

Castor & Pollux

Castor cold star in that constellation Flickers by his twin in combination Above the grey air of dusty fumes Above long cycles to empty rooms, Cold star is a brother of Pollux There's a part of him in all of us. Once while caught in the seasons Coldly (aw!) without the person Following the tracks up beyond the wood factory, I'm sure I felt satisfied  And stooped to the earth in heated awareness. ©Brian Ahern 1988

Costa Daurada (2025)