the fada, the son or some holy ghost
can’t tell me where to say the ‘v’
in the ‘mh’, or was it ‘bh’
words change on the page
cosying up with feminine nouns
ailm, beìth, coll take root in my head

big or small, beag no mòr
in the language of old places
Lewis no more, Skye no more

in the language of now
tha na dàin agam beag
let me find my voice
before you carry me
to the cladh

[2024]