Return of the Prodigal Son, by Lorcan Byrne

Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt (Netherlands) 1663-1665

​Return of the Prodigal Son
 
I kneel into wings of crimson 
feel heaviness of open hands 
on my shoulders, hear heartbeat
weakened by loss. 
My sandal slips to dust,
on my calloused sole 
yellow warmth of fire.
Though I know patient anger 
waits in glazed shadows, 
I embrace new gold, 
his closed eyes, his loving hold.

Lorcan Byrne

Lorcan Byrne is a short story writer and poet. He graduated from University College Dublin in 2016 with an MA in Creative Writing. He has won the Irish News International Short Story award and been shortlisted for several other awards, including RTE’s Francis MacManus Short Story Competition in 2017. His story ‘Delivery’ was included in the Phoenix Anthology of Irish Short Stories 2003. More recently, his poem ‘The Watch’ was longlisted in the United Kingdom’s Poetry Society Artlyst 2020 competition. He lives in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland where the sea is always cold.