Ladies Walk, Inverness
You don’t know your arse
from your elbow my embryo
as we stroll along the River Ness
a reluctant jogger puffs by
a weary train on a tired track
and I give you a running commentary
on those who unknowingly share our Walk
the backpackers free spirits free wheelers
the woman with the red hair
you may become or the bearded
balded man. I share them like
it’s breakfast time, like I’m reading
the news to you, who stirring tea
or spooning jam, listens without looking,
and answers questions I haven’t asked.
Aoife Lyall lives and works in the Scottish Highlands. Shortlisted for the 2016 Hennessy New Writers Award and the Patrician Press Poetry Prize 2016, her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Irish Times, Northwords Now, The Poets’ Republic, and online journal One, and is upcoming in The Stinging Fly. Lyall is a member of the 2017 Ness Book Fest committee and is currently writing her first collection.