‘Silk Cut,’ A Poem by Nick Laird

From His Collection Feel Free

July 9, 2019  By Nick Laird
0


I was five and stood beside my dad
at a junction somewhere in Dublin
when I slipped my hand in his
and met the red end of a cigarette

Article continues after advertisement
Remove Ads

but now our hearts are broken
we walk down to the Braeside
where we can get a proper pint
and his voice tears up a bit

about the emptiness in the house
and we are going home, waiting
at the turn for the traffic, when I find
I have to stop my hand from taking his

_______________________________________

Article continues after advertisement
Remove Ads

“Silk Cut” reprinted from Feel Free: Poems. Copyright © 2019 by Nick Laird. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.



Nick Laird
Nick Laird
Nick Laird is a poet, novelist, screenwriter, and critic. His many honors include the Eric Gregory Award, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His fourth collection of poems, Feel Free, was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Derek Walcott Award. The Seamus Heaney Professor of Poetry at Queen’s University, Belfast, Laird lives in London and Ireland.






More Story
"On Trains" The waiters say she got on the train in Chicago, after transferring from Dearborn Station. She was plump and matronly and her glasses...

Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member: Because Books Matter

For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience, exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag. Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

Become a member for as low as $5/month

Dismiss without supporting Lit Hub
x