Oblique house

 

On the Upper Newtownards road , 170 ,

in the attic of the parents of a friend

a triangle of writers with a Gestetner

a ping pong table and a jar of Nescafe ,

some coffee mugs for making Saturn’s rings

and reams of paper for the duplicator .

The place the Irish Fandom Press was born

 

It isn’t difficult from here

The mountain , looking Northwards , seems to stare

Unblinking , waking and aware

Wide eyed and towards the stars

 

Skystruck , young , they wandered , story hunting , here and there

Writing the best and also - to be clear -

The worst of Sci Fi literature

 

And in 1965 as their planet headed for catastrophe

They gather a time capsule for the coffee jar

And put it underneath the lawn

In deep Earth - by a cherry tree

And take off in three landing craft

Propelled by Solar Rays , they steer

by Ancient star maps - stained and torn

To find and then exploring other worlds

Like salmon - looking for a place to spawn

Walt Willis to the Civil Service , Bob Shaw to alcohol and Canada , James White to be a schoolteacher

 

 

 

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Anita Greg  26/01/2019