Mel will appear at Abbey Lane Open Mic Night Friday 26th Jan. First excerpt appropriate for the weather that's in it:

STORM

for Pat and Fiona McParland

When the storm arrived in the small hours of the night

we were unprepared-

it flicked up slates, whipped off roofs

and found its voice in the dry throat

of our attic.

Our hearts shook

as if our lives had been entered

by an intruder

and our words to each other

were as gentle as the leaves dropping

onto lawns as the wind passed.

TIESfor Anne McParland

Such a simple deed

now marks the passage of time.

I bend to tie my mother's shoes

where once she bent for mine.