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
Author: Ailsa Gillies
Journalist & author.
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
Woman, you are
A poem born in the midst of Storm Amy, Ailsa Gillies speaks to the maiden, the mother and the crone. An ode to the grieving, evolving and forgotten women. Continue reading Woman, you are
Is Milky Chance bringing back the 2010s?
Feeling nostalgic? Milky Chance’s Trip Tape III is a sun-soaked, folktronica-filled trip back to the 2010s. Ailsa Gillies advises sunglasses for this — even if it dropped in September. Continue reading Is Milky Chance bringing back the 2010s?
5 Rothesay characters you’ve never heard of
Step back to 1800s Rothesay and meet five of Bute’s most unusual characters — from the mischievous Daft Jock to the mysterious ‘O’ Man. Unearthed from a 1913 article, these stories bring the island’s forgotten personalities vividly back to life. Continue reading 5 Rothesay characters you’ve never heard of
Bargaining My Soul
This poem captures the tension experienced on what Robert Frost called ‘The Road Less Travelled’. Ailsa Gillies dialogues with the soul when she takes it to auction. Continue reading Bargaining My Soul
ailsagillies.com 