Egilsay clink go the beads of the brothers, they walk south between verges of thistle and mint in the nave, three sided stones mark the place the bell in the tower hangs from an iron frame this seed ripens they know so little they lean on the stile at the elbow of Brother Johan a red admiral quivers a swallow rises behind Aslef’s shoulders angelica, scabious, willow follow the bell smell the mint before the storm before the tide rolls in
Lydia Harris lives in the Orkney island of Westray. She held a Scottish Book Trust New Writer’s Award in 2017. Her fourth pamphlet A Small Space is due from Paper Swans this year. Her first full collection, Objects for Private Devotion is due from Pindrop Press in 2022.