Ray Mullen
I was reared and received my early education in Dundalk. I went to secondary school in Limerick and attended University College Galway where I obtained an Arts Degree in English, History and Psychology. I later moved from the humanities to study pure maths and statistics with the Open University.
In 2009 I won the Francis Ledwidge International Poetry Award. I was Highly Commended in the same competition in each year from 2010 to 2014 inclusive. I won the competition for the second time in 2015. The the only poet to win it twice.
I have been writing poetry on and off since secondary school and in 2010 a book called “Pennyworths” containing some 31 poems of my poems was published.
While I believe that through poetry we learn a lot about how we feel, we can also learn much about who we are and what we believe we are. I think of poetry as being a part of our consciousness that contributes to our search for meaning and identity. It is natural companion to science, art and music.
Circe
…………Ill fate and abundant wine
I slept in Circe’s ingle.
(Homer’s Odyssey – Ezra Pound)
I fell asleep last night
whispering to myself
“You beguile me…
You beguile me …”.
The sweep of your dress,
the curve of your thigh,
the roundness of your small breast.
You beguile me.
I hear your laughter,
I see your smile.
In the pauses of my dream.
you touch my hand
with your fingers. And again;
and then your hold me.
With your magic
you beguile me.
I listen to your slender girlhood,
your foolish loves, your dreams
that never died.
You beguile me.
You held me, twice,
your rat, your swine,
and I am now beguiled
by my own slender hope.