Literary Skulduggery from Shetland, courtesy of poet Chris Tait

 


I am excited and delighted that poet Chris Tait has agreed to contribute to the Quill. Chris is not only an outstanding poet, but is also a playwright, fantasy writer and spoken word supremo. She currently lives in Glasgow, but her writing still very much flows from her Shetland roots.

The poems are from her anthology Literary Skulduggery. https://amzn.eu/d/11yOlvM


The Stone Solitaire Islands

A skull in a blistered helmet
Called from the Nordic crews
His bones marched streets in amulets
And sailed seas like a bruise

His ruined croft was Camelot
A golden egg by a goose
Rings on cushions from rats
Bonds for the guizer jarl's house

The ruffled manes of hamlets
In a rock measured radius
Crofters jousted for their plots
Tassels are handcuffs and a noose



Beelzebub and his Minions

Patrick's criminal fingerprints
He clumsily slipped the sovereign
At the castle with razor points
The carriage burst to a pumpkin

The little match girl was a servant
Learning spells with cauldrons
Banquets for the evil president
He was a headless chicken

Patrick syphoned the rents
Entitlements of twisted cousins
Lilliputian  in their tents
By Beelzebub and his minions

Peasants were hounded in witch hunts
The castle is a midden
Winds clash with the north sea's grunts
In rooms poked of their puddings

The moon drips cow's milk in mints
Fleas piggyback rats coiling curtains
Rock hatches gargoyles with crooked joints
Who have long since dropped the baton

Stone heels like slugs slither squint
Giant's feet trod the gardens



Other poetry anthologies by Chris Tait:

Rumpelstiltskin Illusions  amazon.co.uk/Rumpelstiltskin-Illusions-Chris-Tait/dp/B0BZF8WFC5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BVGE78PLMGJ2&keywords=chris+tait+rumpelstiltskin&qid=1700832835&s=books&sprefix=chris+tait+rumpelstitskin%2Cstripbooks%2C195&sr=1-1

Tweetieshee in the Caves  amazon.co.uk/Tweetieshee-Caves-Chris-Tait-ebook/dp/B0CH45W91X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13BXWNJ1J33F9&keywords=chris+tait&qid=1700832739&s=books&sprefix=chris+tait%2Cstripbooks%2C1127&sr=1-1

Fantasy fiction audio drama:

A Toon Built upon Shenanigans

open.spotify.com/episode/1z5zAvZfo5L90NXDMLkPGb?si=_nOZ0cjCRvOWE19RwcwqVA&utm_source=native-share-menu&nd=1&dlsi=2220fd4ba27943de


Poetry and Painting:

Three Men in a Tub https://youtube.com/watch?v=6Cgql1j19lk@feature=shared

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