this is my thumb and index finger
and there is your earlobe between them
not the one with the freckle, the other -
(your head is on my chest) (lets make love)
this couch surrounds us and inside my tired head
it seems to rise and fall like us and our slow, synced breath
is thick with the heat of 40 LUCKY STRIKES
that we feel we never really wanted but
came with conversation, as always.
we have smoked too many cigarettes
and are now sitting in a big dark lung
alone but for the midnight taxis
and james bond on the television’s screen
playing cards and failing to resuscitate his lover.

Sarah Maria Griffin is 23 years old and hails from the
north side suburbs of Dublin. She is presently taking the
M.A in Writing in NUIG, after an honours degree in
English, Media and Cultural Studies from IADT. She has
only been performing in spoken word circles since late
2009, but since then she has performed at many spoken
word events and slams around the country. She repre-
sented Connaught in the All-Ireland Grand Slam and
came first in the Over the Edge Fiction Slam in 2010. In
January 2011 performed her work on RTE Radio One’s
Arena program. She writes because she isn’t too sure what
else to do with her life. Follies is her first collection.