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Ballinasloe Station

Flood plains replenished and diminished,
a deceiving here-and-there fluidity
and the flat statement of stubborn water.
Occasionally trackside trees are stranded,
littered in swirling pools
that soundlessly disappear.
On the horizon,
tall walls and radio mast mark the far-off asylum
neatly screened with its avenue of trees.
The people are hidden beyond the town,
their tears reaching as far as the railway lines.
The train navigates the flood’s edge
like logic escaping emotion,
trim engineering escaping danger,
holding firmly onto the rails.

(Ballinasloe was a major mental home in County Galway)

Pat Jourdan
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