Recorded on Station Road, Dublin 13, this new poetry film is an invitation, in these stressful and challenging times, to slow things down and to get our racing imaginations back in sync with our breathing — as simple and challenging as that can be. A poetry film by Pat Boran, with special thanks to Alexandria Olivia Wijaya for additional vocals.
STATION ROAD
There is that moment when the barrier comes down
on Station Road, when the train to Howth has passed
and nothing happens; when the men in lycra vests
and shorts on their blade-thin wheels look round
and through each other; when the yummy mums
with their dozy, school-bound offspring by their sides
or trussed up in the seats behind like dolls,
glance down one more time to check the time;
when the very birds up on that ever slack
tangle of cables shuffle two steps left
or one step right; when the sea retreats
and only sunlight advances along the track;
when something in the chest unlocks or shifts,
and you find you’re no longer waiting; when the barrier lifts.
(From Then Again, Dedalus Press, 2019)
And, with sincere thanks to Gerardo Gambolini, here’s his Spanish translation of the poem.
STATION ROAD
Está ese momento cuando baja la barrera en Station Road,
cuando pasó el tren a Howth y no ocurre nada;
cuando los hombres en buzo y shorts de lycra
miran alrededor y se miran entre sí
apoyados en los manubrios; cuando las madres elegantes,
con sus hijos soñolientos yendo a la escuela al costado
o tiesos como muñecos en el asiento de atrás,
bajan la vista otra vez para fijarse en la hora;
cuando los mismos pájaros en esa siempre floja
maraña de cables se mueven dos pasos a la izquierda
o un paso a la derecha; cuando el mar retrocede
y solamente el sol avanza por las vías;
cuando algo se abre o se destraba en el pecho
y uno descubre que ya no está esperando; cuando la barrera se alza.