LatinosUSA

Dan hears the carillon bells; he wonders who is playing them. They remind him of Japanese shrine bells, melodic flowerpots turned upside down to look at. He loves them, despite everything.

Today is a special day for him, the anniversary of his return from living in Australia. He began living there after his prisoner of war status ended in Japan.

Today will mark both stories, he will celebrate to remember and, forget.

 Later he will drink a pint, will celebrate with Mateo, prop the gaps in conversation by filling in for each other. They will re-tell stories, and others they will re-write, weave, and imagine into a narrative both acceptable and cleansed. There will be no pointless interjections in those tales.

A festival day is something both Dan and Mateo looks forward to. In their youth there were many festivals, they ran and shrieked and helped the elders to light the fires, helped with the large cooking pots, played in the jungle while the women cooked food.

Dan is slower now; he limps badly and has few days pain-free. He will make the most of this festival, the time with Mateo and the music. He knows time is running down for him, the tides are due for change.

Bio

Margaret Kiernan is an Irish author and a Best of The Net Nominee for Creative Non-Fiction Award, 2021 and, 2022 and poetry and essay, 2023. She writes poetry, fiction, essay, memoir, and flash. She has had poetry and prose published in hard back, in e-book,  on-line, and in literary journals and magazines, in Ireland, UK, America, India, and Australia. She also has multiple short  stories and poems in anthology collections and cultural publications.

She has Professional Membership at the Irish Writers Centre. Dublin. Ireland.

She participated in a published collection in which professional writers and recognised curators participated, Published on December 6^th, 2022. Ref: K. Higgins Chapbook Gift Presentation.

The Arts Council of Ireland and  Westmeath County Council Arts Office awarded her a Professional Development Bursary, 2021.

Mayo County Council and The Arts Council of Ireland granted a Heinrich Boll Residency and Bursary, 2023.

She launched her Live eBook, a fiction, in June 2024, titled, The Bay of Nectar” published by liveencounterspublishing.net The Bay of Nectar by Margaret Kiernan by Live Encounters – Issuu. https://issuu.com/liveencounters/docs/the-bay-of-nectar-by-margaret-kiernan-issuu

Alba Publishing, UK, published her first poetry collection in  July 2024, titled, “ A Mirage of Lost Things”