Bells Between Barga
A poem that reflects on cross-cultural love using soft, impressionist imagery and intentional symbols across nations. Partly inspired by Giovanni Pascoli’s L’ora Di Barga. Continue reading Bells Between Barga
Author: Ailsa Gillies
Journalist & author.
The Bird of Madonna
Ailsa Gillies reflects on the mother-child bond through the eyes of a bird after visiting the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence. The Bird of Madonna is a soft reflection on how a mother’s devotion can become self-sacrificial, until the child learns to tend its own wounds. Continue reading The Bird of Madonna
Inherited Goods
Is it better to be good or honest? Ailsa Gillies reflects on the lineage of ‘good’ people that have come before her, noting that self-sacrifice is not romantic, but a quiet stirring of resentment and grief. Continue reading Inherited Goods
Big Feelings
Big Feelings in a small world. This poem comes from the healing found from internal reconciliation, not from the repentance of those who hurt you. Continue reading Big Feelings
Lost Light
Start at 26. Start at 40. Start at 65. Ailsa Gillies reflects on what it means to reclaim your lost light. Continue reading Lost Light
Handmade Holes
A reflection on martyrdom, the lack of nobility in suffering and self-sacrifice drawing on both the parallels between Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus & the Christ image of bearing the cross. Continue reading Handmade Holes
I almost abandoned myself
“If I can’t find where I belong in the world, then I’m going to create it.”
An honest account of almost giving up, of fear, doubt, and the quiet resilience it takes to walk a path of your own making. Continue reading I almost abandoned myself
Crystallised Self
A poetic follow-on from Prodigal Son, a dialogue with a shedding persona, Ailsa Gillies makes an empowered declaration of what it means to embody the Self. Continue reading Crystallised Self
Prodigal Son
Jung would say the psyche speaks in images, myth and symbol. This piece is a dialogue with a persona that Ailsa Gillies let die. Continue reading Prodigal Son
Every Body Knows
Going from “if only” to “I am”, this poem moves from frustration and separation to reunion and liberation with the body. Ailsa Gillies celebrates her body for its wisdom during a small bout of illness. Continue reading Every Body Knows
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