Only to wake to the smell of a strange bed,only to stumble to the silver water bowl,the kibble softened with unfamiliar milk. He plunged in,only to emerge sopping wet, fur flattened,the stick clenched in his jaw. When I look back, he always seems to beforgiving me with those frank eyes,shiny as the drops he shook into the air. Alvy Carragher’s third poetry collection, What Remains the Same (2024), is published by The Gallery Press. She has also published a children's novel and was selected for Poetry Ireland's Eavan Boland Award 2025

Source: The Irish Times January 17, 2026 17:32 UTC