valhalla

a feasting hall of the dead
the place is thronged
with anonymous provincial poets
the walls ring with their sings
and far down sit the few
who won great fame whilst yet alive

and in this place
where triumph and pretension are ripped bare
and fame and fancy torn to dust
yeats and shakespeare
dog the heels of one such
Ciaran Smith
vying for his favour
pleading for his attention
he in turn
is kind to them