Insomniac Daydreams of St Kilda

Susan Darlington

The island was made of feathers
it was said. Cobbled streets bloomed

with feathery meadows that cackled
in the May breeze. Dressers in blackhouses

were plump with feather-glazed plates
and oil lamps made the rooms swim

in birds. Women’s hair was white
with feathered nests and their shoes,

made of gannet skin, kept them safe
when they seeded the fields with feathers.

Come autumn, they’d harvest white eggs
from the land. Sing of feathered daughters.

The Science

Former residents on St Kilda, a remote archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland, largely survived on a diet of seabirds and eggs. Every part of the gannets, fulmars and puffins was utilised: feathers were used to stuff pillows; skins were used as shoes; and stomach oil as fuel (BBC Earth News, 2010). The remains of the birds were then used as manure on their fields. In The Seabird’s Cry, Adam Nicolson notes that this practice contaminated the land with zinc and lead. Research from 2006 goes on to note that it “inadvertently transformed the soil into a highly nutrient-rich but heavily polluted landscape.” The island was evacuated in 1930 and is now a UNESCO Dual World Heritage Site that primarily serves as a conservation area and a seasonal research hub.

The Poet

Susan Darlington’s poetry has been published in Magma, Mslexia, Northern Gravy, and Ink Sweat & Tears among others. Her latest chapbook is ‘Lives Outgrown’ (Dancing Girl Press, 2026).

Next poem: Invasive English Sparrow Song by Peter Schmidt