Sophia (17)

As the year closes out
the brown grasses bend
in the unceasing wind
over the empty machair

Your voice still rings out
and your laughter is echoed,
your smile reflected
in the sun on the waves

Your faithful companion
of the past five years
looks out at night time
still wondering when you'll be back

We said good-bye,
that night in Lochmaddy,
never knowing
it would be for good

2019 will be a new start
we'll remember you
whilst going forward
swim strong, mermaid

Sophia (16)

From the Window on the West
I look out at night
I'm waiting still
it's been nearly two months now

Was out hunting voles
and tried to come in
the machair was dark
the wind blew cold

There was no response
No call to return
for night upon day
until they found me

A few days I spent
in a house I was not used to
her scent was there
and I slept on her scarf

She would be back soon
even when I had to ride in the car
to a different place
with friendly people

From the Window on the West
I look out at night
I'm waiting still
surely

surely
she'll be back soon
Is that her coming up the path
to the Window on the West?

[Sophia's cat Torran, still awaiting her return in her new forever home]

Sophia (15)

Time marches on
it's now six weeks
since you left us
in the quiet of the night

We didn't know
you had gone
we saw you out and about
just hours before

But no reply ever more came
after you fell asleep
by the machair
above the sea

I remember your serene smile
of deep friendship
of happy evenings
in fading light

I remember your voice
which can be recalled
in recordings
from yesteryear

The sea was ever your companion
from the very day you were born
until the day you were gone
it was never far away

I know you're yet nearby
not in form, but in spirit
gently touching me
when darkness closes in

Your feline friend
looks out for you
to come striding up the path
to take her across the Rainbow Bridge

Time marches on
and so must I
where you will remain
forever in my heart

Sophia (14)

I'm left with but memories
pictures of visits
only too brief
recordings of your music

The islands don't change
the grasses bend in the wind
as it sighs through
the machair lands

The ocean's drumbeat
punctuates my loss
but on I must go
carried by your memory

The sun sets
into Henneth Annun
an empty window now
on the west

So many you touched
briefly or over years
who'll remember
you and little Torran

still waiting
in her own window on the west
for your familiar form
to carry her over the Rainbow Bridge

Sophia (13)

On the edge of the machair
on the edge of the ocean
you left us
in the quiet of the night

Little Berneray was
your last port of call
in the fields of flowers
where the waves lap ashore

Your spirit slipped out
in the depths of the night
looked out on Bjorn's Isle
left your companion for now

Little Berneray wept
that sunsplashed afternoon
Little Berneray sang
under the December stars

You walk with Orion
you swim in Canopus' light
under the Southern Cross
from whence you came

to the edge of the machair
by the ocean's shore
Your voice still rings out
in my mind's ear

Sophia (12)

And now it's just memories
photographs and music
the austere landscape
that was your home

We'll learn yet
what happened
it does not matter
not anymore

You're one with the machair
where your bare feet
found solace
back to mother earth

You're one with the ocean
where you swim with the mermaids
and your laugh merges
with the crying of the birds

What you left behind
cannot be quantified
for it is with each of us
who remembers you

You're with us forever
with your faithful companion
who'll always be waiting
none will ever forget

Sophia (11)

The last line of my last message to Sophia - which she never read.

*Anyway, hope all is well with cats, and catch you wherever.*

Wherever you are now, Sophia, I know you're free, unbound from old pain, dancing, singing and laughing. You were loved, ARE loved, and missed by so many people who will always love you.

Torran is loved and taken care of, but is still waiting for your return. As she always will be, until she crosses the Rainbow Bridge - where she will meet you again. That's also where Faili, and all your other cats of yesteryear will be reunited with you.

Some of your friends will be around in Berneray tomorrow, where, I gather, you were happy. I am glad you left us feeling happy. I hope so at any rate.

A little of you will be left on the machair in Berneray.
A little of you will be left in Australia, where you came into this world.

Swim strong, mermaid
Sing to the moon, to the waves, to the stars
Laugh forever, to wipe away our tears
You were one of kind, one I'll never meet again

Sophia (10)

Darkness sweeps in from the east
The grasses dance in the cold wind
The wind sings in the wires
A late November gale

The sea has closed the ports
the ferry is not sailing today
will it tomorrow is not known
A late November gale

The radio is silent
of your voice
where it was heard
each Wednesday

We are awaiting your return
but the Atlantic is howling a lament
the sea is thundering a bass theme
on the deserted beaches of the west

When the winds drop down
we will bring you back
to your beloved
machair fields

We will bring you back
to the beaches of the west
where your life began
and where it ended

Sophia (9)

I always left you in darkness
stumbling along the road
with just a feeble torch
in wind and rain

From the warmth of your house
to the chill of a March gale
lashing rain
horizontally

Insouciant of the Uist weather
my feet borne along
by the warmth
of your welcome

Your warmth enveloped me
on the long wave atmospherics
I stumbled and was lost
when I thought I should leave

I saw you wave at me
my heart tore at me
not to go
but go I did

I left you in darkness
that final night
with only distant pinpricks
from far-off lights

We did meet again
and once more
we almost
did not part

I must have known
we would not meet again
and now you're in eternal light
of song, dance and laughter

Sophia (8)

The time is nigh
when you sing
to the moon
Eayst

"To bring him home
to you
Along the path
of stone"

The time is nigh
when you come home
but in spirit
you'll have never left

I left you long ago
in a crowded room
after an evening
in the House of Music

Your voice wafts
on the Atlantic breeze
Far out west
where the stars dance in the night

The black shadow awaits
after dark
in the window on the west
She knows

Sophia (7)

The western roads
are empty now
in the limpid sun
under endless skies

The western seas lap
on the seas of flowers
where the grasses bend
in the ceaseless wind

The western roads
smile to the echo
of your happy dance
towards your beloved beach

The western seas carry
your voice
from beyond this life
for all eternity

Sophia (6)

As the pipes skirl
the strings resound
the voice calls
and laughter rings out

It is only too soon
before I realise
that these are memories
from years ago

You once told me
how would you cope
with losing a loved one
when the time came

Not realising -
who would -
that the loved one
would lose you

As the pipes skirl to an end
the double beat ends on E-flat
the voice fades
and the counter runs out

Your black shadow waits
but now it's you waiting,
at the Rainbow Bridge,
for her to come too

Donna

From beside the lake
you sent us love
in colourful imagery
designed and taken

In a passion for life
you gave us love
sharing your wonder
at the beauty of nature

Nightmaremom or D
thisthat and hockey
the broadest smile
will be remembered by all

I watched you decline
over the years I knew you
until the door softly closed
on November 4th


Sophia and Torran

The night grew dark
as the cold wind blew
a star winked low
in the west

On the prowl
in the lands of grass
a pounce on
an unsuspecting vole

The window
was closed
the room was dark
never to be lit again

You did not know
why the world grew still
only the cold wind blew
on that darkened night

No call would come
no hand would reach
to open the window
on the west

Others became that hand
a kind but unfamiliar house
the window closed
the fading scent

At night you look out
By day you await
For the returning face
that'll never come

(Sophia's cat Torran was taken in by a friend, but is still looking out for her return...)

Sophia (4)

See that road
running through
the grassy sward
alive with flowers

See that road
where the flowers
dance
in their summer song

See that beach
where the waves
pound ashore
their bass theme

See that beach
with its white sands
shells from far away
footprints leading off

See the sea
where the seals swim
the birds wheel over
their eternal songs

See the sea
where you now are
forever happy
the singing mermaid

Sophia (3)

Your voice haunts me
reminding me of days gone by
from beyond the sea
from Tir nan Og

I remember
the evenings
as darkness fell
over the hills outside

And your face faded
into the darkness
within
only your voice remained

I could not leave
that final evening
perhaps knowing
I would not be back

Now that is left
are memories
the darkness
and your voice

You'll always run
the machair lands
and swim the seas
cold and warm

The sun will shine
about you forever
'though rain may lash down
over little Tigharry

Sophia (2)

I'm thinking of you
as I knew you
those years ago
not far from the sea

Talk far into the night
with only a little light
for me to discern
your face

The walks by the sea
the songs by the sea
where the mermaid
would swim at times

A black shadow
never far from your side
who had just joined you
when I first met you

A little torch
now bereft without you
searching frantically
but you'd never come back

The walk from Balranald
no shoes on your feet
in touch with mother earth
with whom you'll now reside

I still cannot believe
I won't see you again
only recordings of your voice
That happy image in Lochmaddy

Swim strong
Maighdean mhara
You've touched many
Near and far

Sophia

From the past you reached out
touched me gently
from beyond
life

I remember you
dancing the roads
roaming the machair
singing for all to hear

It was a long time ago
since our paths last crossed
in the house of music
in by the sea

You would swim in the waves
a mermaid alike
you are now
swimming strong

From the past you reached out
from house by the road
where the two lighthouses winked
off the coast of the west

The pain is now gone
we that are left behind
can but rejoice
through our tears

We will meet again
when all that's left to be done
has been done
in your memory

In memory of Sophia Dale 1966-2018

The Window

Looking out on the bay
spanned by the sun
crowned by the skies
the window on the east

Looking out when the boat
comes, or maybe doesn't
when the people come and go
the window on the south

Looking out to the west
where the sun soon will sink
in a blaze of gold and reds
the window on the west

None come or go now
the sun's appearances brief
as we sink to the solstice
from the window on the north

The window now empty
until the next equinox
past the solstice of darkness
into a new year


Remembering

Inspired by Cathy.

We mourn those that pass away
We lament their death
The loss of their voices
their faces, their presence

But although we cannot see
we cannot hear
we cannot touch
those we held dear in life

They are with us
in our minds
in our eyes
a breath away from a touch

For as long as their story
continues to be told
for as long as they are remembered
they have not truly died

Distance

Will I see you again soon
in your declining years
Close to the sea
where you always were

I wasn't there at the start
and won't be there at the end
where the lighthouse winks
and the seagulls cry

Looking out every day
over the wildest sea
to check for that shadow
by the old seawall

The ferry comes in
I'll be on it one day
to bask in your smile
and see you again

Destitution Road

Destitution Road
A lonely way
Through
A barren land

Stern mountains
Dark forests
Endless moors
And sullen streams

The wind is ceaseless
In its unending howl
Of lament
And sorrow

When famine raised
Its starving head
Only labour
Would stave it off

A horseman
Of the apocalypse
That visited the
Scottish West

Many homesteads
Now lie abandoned forlorn
Only their rowans remain
By Destitution Road

Picture courtesy John Fox

Stair

I sat on that step
on the wide wooden stairs
and thought of the feet
that had gone up and down

On passage through life
on passage through a journey
from one place to the next
and onwards to beyond

Some feet
have long since reached journey's end
their faces will not reach here again
their good bye was the final farewell

Before me
and after me
many feet will tread
that wide stair

A silent black face
darts in amongst the feet
like me
here for a while

Left behind

So it no longer matters
the long nights of winter
the long days of summer
we spent by the water's edge

As clouds sped by
the winds howled
the sun shone
companiably together

As the years fled by
and the gulls cried
treading the roads
on small wheels or big

The time is now nigh
as I've left all else behind
to but be there
but no longer can

No I meant no harm
although harm was seen
where none was meant
I was only grateful

Like I was not there at first
I won't be there at the last
although I only hope to hear of that
once you've been left behind
by me

The house on the cliff

The house on the cliff
gleaming white
in the summer sun
looking out

The empire of stone
between the watery main
fading off
into the distant blue

It's a lonely stance
by the winding road
threading
from village to village

When the sun goes down
when summer
yields to winter's
gloom

The house on the cliff
standing out
in the winter sun
none looking out

Mary

On a sunny day
you came from far
to come home
for the final time

As the boat drew in
past the low houses
on the waterfront
you looked on the old town

Many you called on
Many called on you
Far out west
on the edge of sea

I captured you
in among those you loved
enjoying the warmth
of family bonds

Back you would be
of course
we all come back
to where our roots lie

When the boat drew away
past the low houses
you looked back
knowing you could not be back

Back you were called
beyond the ravages of age
beyond the bodily pain
where all suffering ends

Your spirit remains
with the island folk
far out west
on the edge of the sea

Two months on

The house now empty
and lifeless stands
a heap of sand
is all that remains

A year ago now
was the last party
from where
we said good bye

Two months
have gone by
a long road lies ahead
from the only certainty in life

Land of trees - January 18

The land of trees
has been empty of late
empty of leaves
and trails left untrodden

Today I went back
on my own this time round
and the trees were asking
just you now is it?

No reply I would give
as alone I was not
but alone I had come
for that way it must be

The land of trees
stood still, boughs unbending
awaiting the return
of two, perhaps