Untitled – Ailisha O´Sullivan

I am Lazarus
Jairus’ daughter
the widow of Naim’s son

eyes scrunched and howling
I re-enter the world
a swaddled corpse new-born.

What cursed twist is this
paradise twice lost
and doomed to die again?

What strange love is this
hurled out of heaven?
Oh Christ!
The pain!
The pain!

Ailisha O’Sullivan was born in Ireland and graduated with an honors degree in History and English Literature from University College Cork before moving to the United States where she completed a Master’s Degree in History at Oklahoma State University. O’Sullivan completed a second Master’s in Library Science at the University of Chicago and subsequently worked in the Chicago Public Library system for several years. She next moved to Cluj, Romania and took a position as managing editor at Koinónia Publishing. She currently divides her time between translation and editing projects and working with local non-profit organizations.