Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine (In the shelter of each other the people live)
A Poem by Michael Curran-Dorsano
I find hope hides sometimes, and each time it does it’s something I never seem to find, but it always finds me, in the most unassuming of moments, most unlikely of places, never staying where I left it, but lingering at the end of a long parting, or in an old dream spun from another’s yarn, at the bottom of the warm basin where your memory waits for rough hands to remember, sometimes in the tender slopes of your throat where the head meets the heart, or in the eyes of the alley cat waiting, neck outstretched, one last caress before he feasts, or in the rustling sheets of wiggling feet, eager to rest in each other’s sleep, always in the calm, ritual of living hope arrives, and no matter how long or short the absence, the embers still crackle and burn a chair always empty with the promise of that weary wanderer’s return, and of course, I’ll forget all this, only to discover, all over again, like it’s the very first time, where today’s hope for brighter days resides.
Originally from Minneapolis, Michael is an international artist, whose career as an actor, writer, and teacher has spanned the globe. He’s also a proud graduate of Juilliard’s Drama Division and NUI Galway’s MA in Writing. As an actor, he’s performed on stage, screen and behind the mic in the US, EU and UK. Some notable highlights include 5 seasons on TNT’s The Last Ship, Richard III at the Lyric Theatre Belfast, and narrating Pax and Pax Journey Home with Harper Collins. His poetry has been published in journals such as Vox Galvia, Pendemic.ie, Smashing Times, and Spellweaver, and his debut collection Where The Dead Poets Sing is now available from Wayfarer Books. On the stage and on the page, he draws from classical and contemporary influences, as well as a deep love of myth and storytelling in the bardic tradition.
As a teacher, he’s taught acting, voiceover, and creative writing at arts institutions such as The Loft Literary Center, The Guthrie BFA Program, Galway Arts Centre, and NUI Galway’s Huston Film School. He’s also served as a dialect coach on stage and screen on productions such as Sky TV’s Django and Radium Girls at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast.
