Aince Upon a Day
Aince upon a day my mither said to me:
Dinna cleip and dinna rype
And dinna tell a lee.
For gin ye cleip a craw will name ye,
And gin ye rype a daw will shame ye;
And a snail will heeze its hornies out
And hike them round and round about
Gin ye tell a lee.
Aince upon a day, as I walkit a’ my lane,
I met a daw, and monie a craw,
And a snail upon a stane.
Up gaed the daw and didna shame me:
Up gaed ilk craw and didna name me:
But the wee snail heez’d its hornies out
And hik’d them round and round about
And – goggled at me.
About this poem
This is one of the poems chosen for National Poetry Day 2019 on the theme of ‘truth’.
Learning Resources
SQA Key: National 5 Higher
