A bilingual poem written in Scots and English, Dark Matter imagines the unseen substance of the universe not as physics describes it, but as the collected dreams, thoughts, and stories of all living beings. With playful yet profound turns, it suggests that memory, imagination, and literature are themselves the hidden fabric binding existence together. The poem moves between Scots’ rooted, musical language and English reflection, inviting the reader to close their eyes and glimpse this vast invisible weave.
Dark Matter
Whit if dark matter
Wis nae mair, nae less
Than the thochts and dwams
O every cratur
Wha ever bided in the universe?
Whaur the portraits in the attics
O those wha are no whit they seem
Luik over the braw lands
O the better lives
In the puir and shilpit’s dreams.
And aw the fowk fae buiks and stories
Dauner through
Everythin that wis and is
And micht yet be
Close yir een - dae ye see it noo?
In English:
What if dark matter
Was no more, no less
Than the thoughts and daydreams
Of every creature
Who ever lived in the universe?
Where the portraits in the attics
Of those who are not what they seem
Look over the beautiful lands
Of the better lives
In the poor and downtrodden’s dreams.
And all the people from books and stories
Wander through
Everything that was and is
And might yet be
Close your eyes - do you see it now?
Gregor Steele