Happy World Poetry Day to one and all! And it has been a lovely poetry evening attending the online launch of Mandy Haggith’s new collection, Briny, published by Red Squirrel Press. You can purchase a copy of Mandy’s fabulous sea-themed collection at https://www.mandyhaggith.net/shop.asp. About the collection on her website Mandy shares that Briny “reflects her passion for the sea, whether lapping the shores of the northwest Highlands where she lives or afloat on the wild waters of the Minch. The poems throng with sealife, from barnacles to bow head whales, charting sailing passages and swims, drawing deeply on intimate lived experience of the marine world”.
In lieu of not having a copy of Briny yet, I am sharing one of my (many) favourite poems from Mandy’s collection, Why the Sky is Far Away, published by Red Squirrel press in 2019. A copy of this can also be purchased via the link above. Enjoy!
Seal by Mandy Haggith
big fat seal shining on the seaweed
tossing bladderwrack
galumphing and humping his blubber
wobbling his tail
flipper-flapping himself to get comfy
now with his tiny webbed arm-stump
waving
and I wave back
acknowledge the passing season
the changes in residents
the arrival of water-skiers
the terns’ departure for their winter homes
the problem of heron-housing in a time of wind-throw
the absence of cormorant today
it is good to greet
be at least on nodding terms
I live here too
among the thrift, the ripples and the rock-wrack
~The H Word~
~The H Word~ by Hazel Urquhart 
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