An expedition to the head waters of the River Clyde resulted in the unlikely encounter described here by Stewart Conn.

A former head of radio drama for BBC Scotland, he was Edinburgh's first official Makar. The poem is included in The Touch of Time, his New and Selected Poems (Bloodaxe, £12).

FIRST LIGHT

Near Nunnerie, where Daer and Potrail meet,

highstepping it through early morning mist:

a troupe of llamas; one brown, four white,

their head-erect posture midway between

goat and camel, last thing we dreamt we'd see.

Approaching the bank, they stop in unison

and stand motionless, maybe in contemplation

of their near perfect reflections, or simply

for a good nostrilful of us, then move on;

all but the largest, who gazes quizzically

as if asking, "Do you suspect we exist

only as some mutation of the spirit

of the place? Have it as you please."

Then dismissing philosophical fripperies

he turns and splashes through a hoop of light.