Skip to content

Scottish Poetry Library

Register/Sign in
Shopping Bag Shopping Bag
Bringing people and poems together
  • Home
  • Poetry
    • Poets
    • Poems
    • Makar – National Poet
      • Our Waking Breath: A Poem-letter from Scotland to Ukraine
      • A Woman’s A Woman
      • The story of the Makar – National Poet of Scotland
    • Best Scottish Poems
    • Spiorad an Àite
      Spirit of Place
    • The Trysting Thorns
    • Poetry Ambassadors
      Tosgairean na Bàrdachd
      • Poetry Commissions: Walter Scott 250
        Coimiseanan Bàrdachd: Walter Scott 250
      • Poetry Ambassadors 2021
    • Posters
    • Podcasts
  • Library
    • Become a borrower
    • Catalogue
    • Collections
    • Ask a librarian
    • Copyright enquiries
  • Learning
    • SQA set texts
    • Learning resources
    • Designing sensory poetry activities
    • Children’s poems in Scots
    • National Poetry Day archive
    • New to poetry?
    • Advice for poets
  • Events
    • What’s On
    • Meeting rooms and venue hire
    • Exhibitions
  • Shop
    • Poetry Highlights
    • Entropie Books
    • Stichill Marigold Press
    • Poems for Doctors, Nurses & Teachers
    • Scottish Poetry
    • Poetry Pamphlet Cards
    • Help
  • About us
    • Our story
    • Our people
    • Company Papers & Policies
    • Our projects
    • Our building
    • FAQs
    • Find us
  • Support us
    • Become a Friend
    • Donate
  • Blog
Shopping BagShopping Bag
Ask a librarian
  • Home
  • >
  • Poetry
  • >
  • T. A. Robertson
  • >
  • Hjalta
Donate Donate icon Ask a Librarian Ask a Librarian icon

Hjalta

T. A. Robertson

Da eart-bark in among da girse
Is glintin whaar you stride,
An antrin seggie lowin up
Closs be da burn side.
Da blugga, laek da golden sun,
Is blazin far an wide.

You see da luckaminnie’s oo
In hentins spread an drift;
An da mey-flooer cleds da burn-broo
An growes ita da clift.
Da kokkilurie covers aa
Laek da white cloods ower da lift.

Der places oot alang da loch
At yöle-girse sweetly fills
An smora lukks da drummie-bee
Wi da waff at da lang swaar spills;
Da hedder-ön is da very braeth
O da Sooth wind ower da hills.

You dönna see da Simmer pass,
Rose-red wi laamer een;
You see a glöd o blue an gold,
A glisk o white an green;
Onlie da Sooth wind sees an seichs
Ta tink at shö is geen.


T. A. Robertson

from The Collected Poems of Vagaland (Shetland Times, 1975)

Reproduced by permission of Shetland Museum & Archives.

Tags:

landscape Placebook Scotland Shetland Islands Shetlandic Shetlandic summer
Share this
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Learn more

T. A. Robertson1909 - 1973

Vagaland, along with William J. Tait, is the most significant of the Shetland poets of the mid-20th century.
More about T. A. Robertson

Join

Become a Borrower or support our work by becoming a Friend of SPL.
Join us

Podcasts

Our audio programme of poets, poems and news for you to listen to.
Listen Now
  • Newsletter signup
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2022.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
City of Edinburgh logo Green Arts Initiative logo Creative Scotland logo
Scottish Poetry Library