A haunting and epic poem, written and inspired by the island’s rocky eastern coastline, has been published in a new book.

’Asila’s Song’ was released by the writer and poet Jacqueline Morrey Grace shortly before Christmas.

Originally written as a piece of performance poetry, ’Asila’s Song’ is a Gothic and chilling story, told in rhythmic pulses and half-whispered verses, about a ghost of a wronged woman as she tries to extract her revenge on her murderous lover.

Jacqueline was driven to write after walking along the Maughold coastline and reading haunting stories attached to the area.

’Asila’s Song’ is Jacqueline’s second poetry book, following the release of ’On Ravensdale Hill’, a compilation of her poems which came out earlier in 2021.

’Like my first book, "On Ravensdale Hill", "Asila’s Song" was inspired by the island’s dramatic scenery and my love of walking,’ said Jacqueline.

’It is a fictional story as opposed to a collection of poems, with the storyline here following a ghost’s journey as she tries to haunt her ex-lover to death, while also battling her own haunting.

’This comes in the form of her angel, Asila, who calls to her constantly to forgive her ex so her soul can be released to return to her bones.

’These rest at the bottom of the sea.’

Jacqueline gave her epic its debut on Douglas Head in 2018, performed with a typically intense and dramatic performance, reciting the entire poem from memory over a 20-minute performance.

She said that translating the poem into something to be read, rather than to be listened to, enabled her to be creative with the way text formed on the page.

’Initially, Asila’s Song was written as a theatrical performance piece rather than to read,’ she said.

’However, as my performance style does tend to be a little high velocity, and I’m also a huge fan of intricate rhymes and ever-changing rhythms, I found people were always asking to buy the words.

’I also have a huge, but haphazardly organised body of work, a lot of which only exists in my memory.

’It therefore made sense to begin to see how this translated to formal print and "Asila’s Song" and "On Ravensdale Hill" felt a good place to start.

’Turning these stories into books has been a fantastic experience.

’In the process, I also discovered "Asila’s Song" worked best as a one-act play and ended up formatting it into 12 scenes in different locations.

’I’m now looking forward to seeing how this influences Asila’s next stage performance.’

Both books are priced £10 each and are available from Bridge Bookshop and quirky.im or through jackiemorreygrace.weebly.com.

£2 from every book sold goes to Manx Wild Bird Aid.

’Asila’s Song’ was backed by the Isle of Man Arts Council.