Episode 20 READING POETRY - “Derigibles” by Derek Mahon #NaPodPoMo

From Cork With Love - by Paul O'Mahony · Nov 23, 2025 · 7m

Day 20 of #NaPodPoMo Paul O'Mahony introduces Derek Mahon - he reads his poem Derigibles Paul reads Derek’s poem.

Today I learned: It's never too late to come across a word that opens a window.

DERIGIBLES

We who used to drift

superbly in mid-air,

each a giant airship

before ‘the last war’,

shrink to a soft buzz

about financial centres

surprising visitors,

hackers and bean counters

in cloud-flown highrises.

Cloud-slow, we snoop for hours

on open-plan offices

and cloudy cocktail bars.

Amnesia and mystique

have cast into oblivion

fiery failures like

Italia, R101,

the whole brief catalogue

of mad…