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Poetry by Paul O'Mahony

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Favourite Quotes

I never went to college — I don’t believe in college for writers. The thing is very dangerous. I believe too many professors are too opinionated & too snobbish & too intellectual, & the intellect is a great danger to creativity … because you begin to rationalize & make up reasons for things, instead of staying with your own basic truth — who you are, what you are, what you want to be. I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for over 25 years now, which reads “Don’t think!” You must never think at the typewriter — you must feel. Your intellect is always buried in that feeling anyway.
– Ray Bradbury

A man, yet by these tears a little boy again,
Throwing myself on the sand, confronting the waves…
– Walt Whitman

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
– Mary Oliver

Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem…
– Walt Whitman

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs…
– Wilfred Owen

And all men kill the thing they love,
By all let this be heard …
– Oscar Wilde

A book must be an axe which smashes the frozen sea within us.
– Franz Kafka

If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.
– Emily Dickinson

There are worse things than having behaved foolishly in public.
– Fleur Adcock

Recent Posts

Favourite Quotes

“We are meaning making machines”
– Paul O’Mahony

“I never went to college — I don’t believe in college for writers. The thing is very dangerous. I believe too many professors are too opinionated & too snobbish & too intellectual, & the intellect is a great danger to creativity … because you begin to rationalize & make up reasons for things, instead of staying with your own basic truth — who you are, what you are, what you want to be. I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for over 25 years now, which reads “Don’t think!” You must never think at the typewriter — you must feel. Your intellect is always buried in that feeling anyway.”
– Ray Bradbury

“A man, yet by these tears a little boy again,
Throwing myself on the sand, confronting the waves…”
– Walt Whitman

“I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
– Mary Oliver

“Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem…”
– Walt Whitman

“If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs…”
– Wilfred Owen

“And all men kill the thing they love,
By all let this be heard …”
– Oscar Wilde

“A book must be an axe which smashes the frozen sea within us.”
– Franz Kafka

“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”
– Emily Dickinson

“There are worse things than having behaved foolishly in public.”
– Fleur Adcock

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Category: haiku

Elude

stick insects elude

the army of hungry frogs

camouflaging moon

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Posted on September 2, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags camouflage, elude, frog, hungry, stick-insectLeave a comment on Elude

Yearn

Clothes moths yearn for silk

eating from a favourite dress,

eggs about to hatch

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Posted on September 1, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags dress, moth, silk, yearnLeave a comment on Yearn

Jovial

twitcher seeks dunnocks


ruffling hedges at moonrise


jovial: overhead

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Posted on September 1, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories haiku, poetryTags bird, dunnock, jovial, twitcherLeave a comment on Jovial

Abject

cool autumn evening
bald eagle seizes the smolt
abject, the osprey

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Posted on August 19, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags autumn, eagle, osprey, smoltLeave a comment on Abject

Erratic

an erratic rock
defies the lashing rainfall,
ancient shards withstand

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Posted on August 19, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories haiku, poetryTags Bashō, Burren, erratic, rain, rock, shardsLeave a comment on Erratic

Pummel

two brown bears pummel
vying for powerful mate –
salmon slip upstream

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Posted on August 17, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags bear, mate, pummel, salmon, upstreamLeave a comment on Pummel

Spider

fangs of a spider

ready to strike with venom 

– an entangled fly

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    Posted on August 9, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags fang, fly, spider, strikeLeave a comment on Spider

    Charm

    Charm defeated me
    shut off tap of syllables –
    staring at the moon

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    Posted on August 8, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags charm, haiku, moon, syllableLeave a comment on Charm

    Mischievous

    mischievous raven
    tickles tail of dozing cat –
    summer sun smiles

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    Posted on August 1, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags cat, mischievous, raven, sunLeave a comment on Mischievous

    Hum

    moonlight hum, giraffes 

    resting together at ease – 

    lioness hungry

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    Posted on July 31, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags giraffe, hum, lioness, moonlightLeave a comment on Hum

    Elm

    elm bark beetle bores

    into trunk of mighty tree

    chewing vital sap 

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    Posted on July 31, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags bark, beetle, elm, sapLeave a comment on Elm

    Crimson

    a robe dyed crimson –
    kermes cling to oak plump packed –
    ready to be squashed

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    Posted on July 27, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags crimson, kermes, robe, squashLeave a comment on Crimson

    Together

    together again –
    emperor penguins warm egg
    as the iceberg drips

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    Posted on July 25, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags egg, emperor, iceberg, penguinLeave a comment on Together

    Tear

    crocodile tear –
    rolled from eyes beseeching trust
    lubricating spring

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    Posted on July 25, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags crocodile, haiku, tearLeave a comment on Tear

    Promise

    bees promise honey
    when dandelions’ nectar blooms
    workers feed the queen

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    Posted on July 25, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags bee, honey, promiseLeave a comment on Promise

    PURPOSE

    porcupine purpose
    puncturing beaks in springtime
    a horned owl retreats

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    Posted on July 25, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags haiku, owl, poetry, porcupine, purposeLeave a comment on PURPOSE

    Onyx

    Gemini twins wear 

    black onyx during the night

    ravens for dreamers

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    Posted on July 19, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags dream, Gemini, onyx, raven, twinLeave a comment on Onyx

    Blackberries

    blackberries fattening
    thorns sharpening, raindrops abound.
    nettles fit to sting

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    Posted on July 18, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories haiku, poetryTags blackberries, haiku, nettles, thornsLeave a comment on Blackberries

    Wormhole

    a beetle burrows
    through into an other world
    follow the wormhole

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    Posted on July 15, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags beetle, burrows, wormholeLeave a comment on Wormhole

    Idolatry

    shocked by golden calf
    first commandment smashed to bits
    idolatry rests

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    Posted on July 13, 2025Author Paul O'MahonyCategories exercise, haiku, poetryTags bible, calf, commandments, idolatry, mosesLeave a comment on Idolatry

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