Ethiopia to Pluto
Climb a peak and see one further
must be scaled because it’s higher.
And so we go, it being our nature,
from Ardi to Lucy and hurtling on to Pluto.
Four billion miles conquered,
ten per beat of human heart.
Four million years since Ardi,
nine to reach the Kuiper Belt.
We’ll get those nine years down to one,
then ride the interstellar void
like fibrillating Gods.
Climb a peak and see one further
must be scaled because it’s higher.
And so we go, it being our nature,
from Ardi to Lucy and hurtling on to Pluto.
Four billion miles conquered,
ten per beat of human heart.
Four million years since Ardi,
nine to reach the Kuiper Belt.
We’ll get those nine years down to one,
then ride the interstellar void
like fibrillating Gods.
Morning Languor
How often have I set the clock
to wake me in soft darkness,
prepared to go at sunrise,
then turned to see her lying there,
all snuggled up in curls and stretches,
happy sighs,
gone back to sleep contented.
Louis Mulcahy is an Irish potter who has published one collection of poems in Irish and four in English, the latest of which is Lisbeth – New & Selected Poems (Concerto Books, 2024). louismulcahy.com
How often have I set the clock
to wake me in soft darkness,
prepared to go at sunrise,
then turned to see her lying there,
all snuggled up in curls and stretches,
happy sighs,
gone back to sleep contented.
Louis Mulcahy is an Irish potter who has published one collection of poems in Irish and four in English, the latest of which is Lisbeth – New & Selected Poems (Concerto Books, 2024). louismulcahy.com
