Poem of the month - September 2006

Thrimilce - Isbister The Anglo-Saxons called (May) thrimilce, because then cows can be milked three times a day - Brewer's Phrase and Fable Cheddared, the light sealed in rind of dry road; bloom and sheen of the ditches I've been dreaming all this life; the close-quilled irises rooted dense and deep as flight feathers. Recognition rises - cream in a tilted pitcher. ©2005, Jen Hadfield, from Almanacs (Bloodaxe, 2005) Poem supplied courtesy of the Scottish Poetry Library

About the poet Jen Hadfield currently lives in Shetland. She was born in 1978 to Canadian and English parents. Her first collection, Almanacs, was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2005 and won an Eric Gregory Award. Her current manuscript will probably be called Nigh-No-Place and was written mostly in Canada and Shetland, and is about geographical and emotional badlands. Jen is also an artist and has just completed an informal apprenticeship in traditional letterpress printing. The Printer's Devil and the Little Bear is a collection of pages of poems, photographs and linocuts in a fine binding. Jen was recently Shetland Arts Trust's Writer in Residence. She loves folksong and plays the mandolin badly.

If you have enjoyed this poem, you can borrow a range of poetry from the Scottish Poetry Library, who also lend by post. Telephone 0131 557 2876 or email reception@spl.org.uk. For an online catalogue, poetry events listings and more featured poems, please visit the Scottish Poetry Library website.