The Visit

That day I found you
tiny in the bedroom chair
translucent skin as soft
as moths' wings, lit up
like a paper lantern.

I brought you tight
curled hyachinths
cut lilac sweet
to scent the room.

Three days later
you were gone.
Even the hyacinths
outlasted you.

Eleanor Livingstone

Eleanor Livingstone was born in 1957 and spent her early years in Bathgate. At the age of 8, she moved to Fife where she still lives. She has been writing poetry for 10 years and in 2005 became Artistic Director of StAnza, Scotland's Poetry Festival. The Last King of Fife, published by HappenStance in 2005, is her first collection.  

"Eleanor Livingstone's poetry is intelligent, wry, with a sharp local flavour, but its horizons are wide, celebrating everyday human experience with verve and an instinctive feel for language - a memorable first collection."  (Anna Crowe)   "Her voice is friendly, measured and vivid; and the variety of subject matter leaves plenty of room for enjoyable surprises." (Maggie Butt)     The Last King of Fife is available for £3.00 from HappenStance