Sea to Skye
Daria Kulesh
for Una McLeod
I first came to the Isle of Skye as a teenager in a precarious tangle of circumstances; on the surface, an interpreter for the Moscow Chamber Orchestra on tour. An elderly lady called Una treated me with kindness. Years later, I came back, having found my true voice and my place in the world. Una was still there – waiting? This time round, she gave me a very special gift...
The turn of the wheel, the steel of my will
Returned me upon this shore.
How was I to know, fifteen years ago,
That I will see you once more?
How haunted I was; now I have a voice,
I was longing; now I belong.
The turn of the wheel, the steel of your will:
You had to pass on the song,
You gave me your mother’s song.
A song let me sing of the sea-note’s ring:
A song of the sea to Skye;
A song in the storm that breaks with the morn:
A song of the sea-bird’s cry.
A song is a ghost that longs for a voice,
I give it my breath; I sing
Your mother’s old song through me is reborn.
Who knows – does it make us kin?
Like mother and child, the sea and the sky
Were one – very long ago.
They long to unite, clouds tugged by the tide,
And that’s how we truly know
The meaning of love.
I first came to the Isle of Skye as a teenager in a precarious tangle of circumstances; on the surface, an interpreter for the Moscow Chamber Orchestra on tour. An elderly lady called Una treated me with kindness. Years later, I came back, having found my true voice and my place in the world. Una was still there – waiting? This time round, she gave me a very special gift...
The turn of the wheel, the steel of my will
Returned me upon this shore.
How was I to know, fifteen years ago,
That I will see you once more?
How haunted I was; now I have a voice,
I was longing; now I belong.
The turn of the wheel, the steel of your will:
You had to pass on the song,
You gave me your mother’s song.
A song let me sing of the sea-note’s ring:
A song of the sea to Skye;
A song in the storm that breaks with the morn:
A song of the sea-bird’s cry.
A song is a ghost that longs for a voice,
I give it my breath; I sing
Your mother’s old song through me is reborn.
Who knows – does it make us kin?
Like mother and child, the sea and the sky
Were one – very long ago.
They long to unite, clouds tugged by the tide,
And that’s how we truly know
The meaning of love.
Moscow-born Daria Kulesh had her first poetic publications in Russian literary magazines such as Arion and Novy Mir. Her passion for Celtic music and culture has led to many adventures on a turbulent and exciting journey through life. Today, she is a folk singer and singer-songwriter resident in the UK and inspired by her Russian and Ingush (North Caucasus) heritage.
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