Ghosts of Cambridge

Vivaldi’s Autumn lilts the air

along with the sun that filters

through gothic halls with ghosts of Still

and Newton and drowns the talk of the day.

A distant room swells with

Number 3 in G Major

and my footsteps are in harmony

with the works of Joachim.

Through King’s College,

the works of Rubens and Handel

intoxicate me, and through Trinity College,

I share wine with Byron and Marvel.

From the tower of the Cathedral, students

in denims debate what the future could hold.

The dilating huddles is filled with chatter

before they retreat to their rooms.

As the many decades have unfolded,

green leaves from tree-scored streets

continue to flower.

If it’s not the eve of All Soul’s Day,

could punters be mere shadows

beneath the mathematical bridge,

that continue to sail along the Cam?

Sinéad MacDevitt is a trained Montessori and Speech & Drama Teacher. She is also a trained Amherst Writers & Artists Facilitator. Her memoirs were published in Ireland’s Own, Navan: Its People and its Past and the Irish Poetry Therapy Network Journal, Volume 7. Her poems were published in Ireland and The Reform Jewish Quarterly in America. She was shortlisted for many poetry competitions and was awarded second prize for the Desmond O’Grady competition. Her stories were shortlisted for the Jonathan Swift and Swords Pride of Place competition.