The mobile was bricked long ago. Earthbound, insides bare
except for your old dresses, your television, your countertop
mikados. Outside, you pointed your crutch at ladybirds and I
kept every single one in a jam jar, good boy, until the jar
was an ecosystem of red-black, until the jar was not enough
for the red-blacks who knew only green and dew before us.
I slept with your stockings on my bed, and when Easter
arrived we counted worms in the garden loudly so that the
empty mobiles knew we were happy, happier, happiest. It was
only when you left that I understood for the first time
the brackets of my life.

Liam Maguire is currently a student at NUIG, pursuing a MA in Literature and Publishing. He has done very little so far, and is planning on keeping it that way for the foreseeable future.