they lit fires, moved in close by Raine Geoghegan

 


 

Raine Geoghegan is a poet, prose writer, performer and performance coach living in Worcestershire. She is of Romany, Irish and Welsh descent. She is a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net 2018, and a Forward Prize nominee  She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. Her work has been published internationally both online and in print. Her first pamphlet Apple Water: Povel Panni was previewed at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2018, alongside the film A Memory of the Hop Fields in which her poetry and songs were featured. Her latest book, they lit fires: lenti hatch o yog was published in December 2019. She gives readings in the UK, Wales and Ireland and teaches 

‘Poetry & Prose Performance Skills’. rainegeoghegan.co.uk

 

 


 

 

             

             

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     dikka kie my carrie come and sit yerself down

    

     yer look dukkered

 

 

me granny used to sit by the yog all the time

 

rubbin’‘er ‘ands then movin’ ‘em close to the flames

 

‘er skin turned dark and she said that the fire did it

 

dark raddi’s with no moon

 

only the brightness of the yog

 

 

great aunt bethy tellin’ a story 

the one about ‘er great great granny margret

who drowned in a ditch drunk as a lord 

‘er face down in the water

‘alf a dozen piglets running around and over ‘er,

them not seemin’ to notice

 

‘ands ‘oldin’ saucers of mesci with drops of tatti-panni in ‘em

 

all of the malts slowly gettin’ skimmished

 

 

Raine Geoghegan

 

Romani words: dikka kie – look here; dukkered – done in; yog – fire; raddi’s –  nightsmesci – tea; tatti-panni – brandy; malts – women; skimmished drunk.

 

 

Walking with the Wagons by Raine Geoghegan

A Memory of the Hop Fields  by Raine Geoghegan

The Lungo Drom by Raine Geoghegan

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Poems