The following poem is by Kirsty Law, a singer from the Borders with a love of old Scottish songs.  She is a student of Newcastle University's Folk and Traditional Music degree.

the little house on the pier


A remedy in company
round a table with an open door
in this little house on the pier

here, we eat like lords
but could feast on air.

Outside the fishing boats are still
in the shelter of the harbour

in the shelter of our songs
we’re sound for the night.

In the warmth of stories, smokey fish and candlelight
I bask in the aftermath of a day when I

handled rough ropes
chopped red chillies
and felt alive. 

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Karin Slater is a creative writing graduate living in the Hebrides, where she spends her time writing poetry and short fiction, weaving a traditional Hattersley loom, sweating profusely and growing veg unfit for exhibition standards.  The poem 'Nora Daly' was published in Issue 47 of The North in April 2011.

Nora Daly


It never rained on her.
Not once
on those narrow shoulders,

the unexplained
in the atmosphere
keeping her dry.

And when she died,
and the body
returned
to her front room,

snow fell on Clare Island,
deep and proper.
Everywhere,
but on her house.

www.karinslater.co.uk

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Image by Laura Boyle