Mary O’Rourke has had four collections of poetry published, My Mirror was Cracked (1999), It’s all happening (2004), ‘He touched me: Gospel Poems’ (2009) and Trove (2012). Her work has been published in Crannóg, the sHOP, Ireland’s Own, The Galway Sentinel, Aware Magazine, Divas: A Sense of Place and Women’s Work. She is a member of Galway Writers’ Workshop.

My place

I know every crack on the pavements
And how to avoid potholes
I wander through familiar streets
Tourists stare at buildings
I hardly notice
They are conspicuous in their brightly coloured rain jackets
And accents
I must look like a native
As they ask for directions
It used to be Spaniards, French or Germans
Now the languages come from further away.

I stroll through the Saturday market
People move gently, no jostling
Aromas wafting from the food stalls
Entice me to snack on pancake with chocolate
I admire the crafts
Eye some as possible Christmas gifts
The banter among buyers and sellers
Lifts a rainy Galway day.

At the Spanish Arch
More tourists posing for photographs
The river is high as it rushes towards the bay.

Later, on a helicopter ride
The centre is a maze of narrow streets
Not suited to twenty-first century traffic
People are dots moving like ants
Part of the hustle and bustle
Of my place.