Aince Upon a Day - by
Aince upon a day my mither said to me:
/ Dinna cleip and dinna rype
/ And dinna tell a lee.
/ For gin ye cleip…
Place: Scotland
from The Bruce - by
A! Fredome is a noble thing
/ Fredome mays man to haiff liking.
/ Fredome all solace to man giffis,
/ He levys at es that…
Gift - by
The greatest gift
/
/ That Scotland – and Ireland
/ Could receive
/
/ Would be a Voice
/ Proclaiming:
/
/ “As from this day
/ You…
Gone but Not Forgotten - by
On leaving
you playfully punched
my left
shoulder…
Early Morning Train to Inverness - by
from time to time snow sprinkles from the sky
/ the way flour sifts from a baker’s fist
/
/ grey steel pylons pose…
A Hauf-a-Croun o Devolutioun - by
‘Say efter me,’ said Rab, as he gied the waen
/ a hauf-croun muckle ‘s the muin i the middle air,
/ the siller…
The Free Natioun - by
Preeve you tae me thare’s natiounhood,
/ and I sall preeve thare’s nane;
/ an that’s as gyte as your belief
/ that needs nae pruif…
Scotland the Wee - by
Scotland the wee, crèche of the soul,
/ of thee I sing
/
/ land of the millionaire draper, whisky vomit
/ and the Hillman Imp
/
/ staked…
Threshold - by
Our strength is our difference. / Dinny fear it. Dinny caw canny. …
Between the Dee and the Don - by
I was conceived between the Dee and the Don. / I was born in the city of crag and stone.
from ‘a better tale to tell’ - by
politicians must become / better messengers / with a better tale / to tell…
The Scottish Poetry Library - by
so much light here –
sun’s rhythm in each wall…
flow of thoughts on the shelves,
radiant lamp of the books