Poem Seven: Things I Didn't Know I Loved

Things I Didn't Know I Loved (After Hikmet)

I didn't know I loved the street dogs of Boyle
every one, equal parts scruffed-up and old-souled
or that there was a reliable gang
of plasterers available to me at reasonable rates
if only I'd ring.
I didn't know I loved funerals, certain funerals,
how a village whips into action, Hi-Vis vests donned,
someone yells, "JOE! PRIEST CAR!" and it's directed
among traffic cones. (There's an underlying passion.)
I didn't know I loved shadows
the ones stone walls cast, how they map
a forked path to pick along.
I didn't know I loved hen parties de-bussing at the chapel
or Those Nervous Animals versus Drumshanbo Gun Club.
I didn't know I'd come to love the "u"
in colour, rumour, and neighbour
or how when a friend from Aberdeen says "odd"
it sounds, to these ears, like "awed".