June 2026

poetry

Inmates

by Polina Cosgrave

One look inside somebody's window – a stolen image taken from the cage we carry ourselves 
in anywhere we travel.  
Time of our lives dissolving like ice-cubes in gin and tonic, our histories – sweet meat melting 
in your mouth.  
Wrap your tongue around my heart, then suck it dry, do it wrong, do it as fast as you can, so I 
can catch your eye before checking out. 


Can you ever truly master the art of being a stranger in your own land, in your new land, in any 
land you cast your shadow on.  
The cell bars imprint on your childlike face.  
We might be dirty, but we are still more than virgins, no matter how many times our minds are 
put on sale.  
We might be jailed, but your plane flies further than thought, with a message of hope scribbled 
into its paper skin. 


Whenever we break out, dead drunk, heads full of blues, sweaty like pigs,  
a lost soul catches your paper plane and smiles.

polina-cosgrave
Polina Cosgrave

Polina Cosgrave is the author of two poetry collections, ‘My Name Is’ (Dedalus Press, 2020) and ‘Cargo’ (The Gallery Press, 2024). Her work has appeared on TV, radio and in many anthologies and magazines, including the Forward Prizes Book of Poetry, Winter Papers, the Stinging Fly and the Irish Times.

More work by Polina Cosgrave

1968 - 2026

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