faclan, eich-mhara
nam bhruadar bha mi nam ghrunnd na mara
agus thu fhèin nad chuan trom
a’ leigeil do chudruim orm
agus d’ fhaclan gaoil socair nam chluasan
an-dràsda ’s a-rithist
òrach, grinn, ainneamh
man eich-mhara, man notaichean-maise
sacsafonaichean beaga fleòdradh

words, seahorses
i dreamt i was the seafloor and you were the weight of the ocean pressing down on me, your quiet words of love in my ears now and again, golden, elegant and strange, like seahorses, like grace-notes, tiny floating saxophones

palabras, hipocampos
soñé que yo era el fondo del mar y tú el peso del océano gravitando
en mi, tus palabras de amor silenciosas en mis oídos ahora y siempre, doradas,
elegantes y extrañas, como los hipocampos, notas suaves, pequeños
saxofones flotantes

Spanish translation by Raúl Jaime first published in PROMETEO: Revista Latinoamericana de Poesía (Número 59-60, Medellin 2001)

Original poem from Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides © Kevin MacNeil and Canongate Books 1998