New Poetry

Splendid Isolation by Erik Zoha

Proud to be different, I stand alone,
In splendid isolation, adjacent to –
But not in – the Highland mountain stream,
Related to metamorphic rock mass
And (distantly) to colourful pink/blue
Amalgams, and to polished black/grey
Pebbles, my beauty more hidden, subtle,
Until shafts of sunlight pick out the
Silvery, glistening quartzite. Tough,
Resilient, enduring through aeons of time.


Caledonian Quartzite by Erik Zoha

Angular, part roughly hewn, part glistening bright,
I am weathered and ancient, yet attractive.
Part-smooth to touch, a mass of contradictions.
Formed from seismic and Vulcan activity,
Pock-marked, veiny, deep clefts super-heated/
Super-cooled, eroded and glaciated.
Resilient, strong enough to deflect
Magnetic compasses of walkers climbing the
Conical peak of Schiehallion, used by scientists
As a mark in determining the size of the Earth.