A poem by Andrew McNeillie

The windows shut against the weather,
I climbed the hill through bog and heather.

I saw a golden eagle and a mountain hare
And found an antler of a deer.

I walked along Hushinish shore
And watched the gannet plunge down ice-cold air.

All in a southeast wind I saw forever
Nothing to my mind that might repair

The dream of sailing to St Kilda
As I had dreamt it months before.

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Taken from Winter Moorings, a new collection of Andrew’s poems, published by Carcanet. Copies can be bought direct from the publisher at a special discount price for Caught by the River readers.

Andrew McNeillie is the founding editor of the magazine Archipelago and runs the Clutag Press.