Northwords Now

New writing, fresh from Scotland and the wider North
Sgrìobhadh ùr à Alba agus an Àird a Tuath

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The Vestigium

by Donald Mackay

beneath the deep blue sea a female angler fish
is chased by a tiny independent male
as he bites into her his spit dissolves her skin
his skin until they fuse

her blood his blood
a symbiotic sperm-bag stuck outside her body
while certain unions
are desirable

or necessary
who would wish to be
a nation's last vestigium held on by motorway
and blood and government and rail

to somewhere real
which has forgotten you exist?
have you or does that memory as if a bit of grit
sometimes annoy you?


Donald Mackay - Late Poems

Donald Mackay was a teacher from Caithness whose poetry pamphlets were published by Mariscat and in publications such as The Dark Horse, with which he had a long connection.

APoem by Donald Mackay
At the BallPoem by Donald Mackay
Beyond the Split StanePoem by Donald Mackay
CrashPoem by Donald Mackay
Donald Mackay – An AppreciationArticle by Willie Hershaw
Seeing ScotlandPoem by Donald Mackay
SS Great BritainPoem by Donald Mackay
The BeastPoem by Donald Mackay
The BookPoem by Donald Mackay
The MasterPoem by Donald Mackay
The VestigiumPoem by Donald Mackay
ThesesPoem by Donald Mackay
To the Year's EndPoem by Donald Mackay

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