Dorothy Lawrenson: The image of two people embracing as tightly as a spliced rope opened the door to a lot of nautical imagery, which leads up to an allusion (in the penultimate line) to the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens. In the ballad, seeing the new moon holding the old moon in her arms is… Continue reading Aubade / Alborada

Carlos Llaza: My wife and I have always dreamed of having a house by the sea. This short lyric is an attempt to use noble materials to construct a metaphor for family and commitment, facing the endlessness of the horizon. The voice that speaks and the person who writes overlap. This is dedicated to my Carly, who renews my universe… Continue reading Albañilería / Biggin / Bricklaying

Dorothy Lawrenson: I had been thinking about the difference between the solar and lunar calendars. This poem, first published in Eemis Stane, explores the contrast by riffing on the traditional gendering of the sun and moon, who are figured – not without an element of stereotype – as a lazy man and an uncomplaining woman.… Continue reading Cutty Days / Días Cortos / Short Days

Carlos Llaza: I am very fond of this strange wee poem. Originally published by Estación Poesía, it takes the beauty of an old chair as a pretext to reflect on how people, other beings and even objects come to existence and cling to it. While this is not mentioned in the poem, it was somehow… Continue reading Elogio de la Silla Vieja / Eulogy for the Old Chair / Eulogy fir the Auld Chair

Dorothy Lawrenson: Bladnoch is near to Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway. My partner and I spent a couple of days camping there, in a tent that turned out not to be waterproof! Scots has an abundance of words for wet weather and wet places, so I enjoyed collecting some of them together in this poem.… Continue reading Bladnoch

Carlos Llaza: ‘La sobremesa’ deals with the most pleasurable aspect of eating with friends and family: proper conversation. While the speaker seems relaxed and willing to take his time, he is aware of the tacit urgency informal chat can provoke. Language and words are dynamic because our own reality is constantly renewing itself. New ways… Continue reading La Sobremesa / Efter Eatin / After Eating

Dorothy Lawrenson: I enjoy the opportunities that Scots sometimes offers for bringing the archaic into conversation with the contemporary. Here, the medieval concept of the wappenschaw – a muster of armed men – finds a modern echo in the image of the lads brandishing ‘light-sabres’ made of ice. This is another poem that goes back… Continue reading The Muckle Shockle / El Gran Carámbano / The Big Icicle

Carlos Llaza: My uncle Max has been an important part of my life ever since I can remember. Many of my fondest childhood memories involve Max’s wit and loud laughter. I’ve always admired the freedom with which he lived. Knowledgeable and charismatic, he was loved and cared for wherever he went. Unsurprisingly, cats and dogs… Continue reading Cometa en Ilo / Fleein Draigon in Ilo / Kite in Ilo

Dorothy Lawrenson: I grew up on the shores of the Firth of Tay, and I spent many hours looking for shells and shiny things on the beach at the end of our road. I hoarded many such treasures and have probably still got them in a box somewhere. But there are also devastatingly beautiful sunsets… Continue reading The Lowes / Los Fuegos / The Fires

Carlos Llaza: For many years, the garden has been the main feature of my parents’ house. There are fruit trees, flowers, herbs, a greenhouse full of vegetables, beehives; you name it. All this life, of course, is closely connected to rot and decay. The poem is concerned with the way in which rotting matter nourishes the… Continue reading Naturaleza Muerta / Still Life