Aquafit - by
I join the usual coven in the pool, ladies past
a certain age, warming up their tonsils.
I join the usual coven in the pool, ladies past
a certain age, warming up their tonsils.
In the blunted night of the coal shed,
/ without a torch, my fingers dig
/ among the coal for the coal.
/ Hear it scutter…
And on my map is neither wall or fence,
but men and women and their revenue,
As, watching them, I utter into silence
A granary of whispers rinsed in dew.
Taigh Fhionnlaigh,
/ taigh a’ Bhadlaich,
/ taigh Aonghais a’ Cheanadaich,
/ taigh Aonghais ’ac Dhòmhnaill,
/ taigh Alastiar Ruaidh,
/ taigh Dhomhachainn,
/ taigh an Ruaidh,
/ taigh Dhòmhnaill Eachainn,
/ taigh Sheumais Shlàdair,
/ taigh…
You know you’re in Ullapool
/ when the little town is a sea town,
/ lorries roll from the docks,
/ a gaggle of girls buy…
He saw the weather written on the pane
/ as he buckled on his gaiters,
/ shouldering the hammer to walk the lane
/ spooked with…
I’m going to round off this head of kale
and pack it sweet beside
the yellow slips that are my butter-breaths.