Rutherglen
Having split, with patience,
my first pound note
I kept the two halves
in case of disbelief.
They gave me a glow.
But I was now wound up
tingling for conquest
and as I stared at them
I seized another note
washed my hands
examined my nails
took chair to table.
In best midday light
made one note two
removed metal strip
made two one again.
A happy hour!
So I kept the strip
recirculated the note
thought of whoever
would hold it to the light.
O the consequences!
O the delight!
About this poem
This poem was included in Best Scottish Poems 2010. Best Scottish Poems is an online publication, consisting of 20 poems chosen by a different editor each year, with comments by the editor and poets. It provides a personal overview of a year of Scottish poetry. The editor in 2010 was Jen Hadfield.
Editor's comment:
In this poem, Morgan's voice – his breathless excitement and Morgan almost making a kitsch of his own breathlessness – persists despite his apparent absence. 'Beyond' is his own preposition, with the implication of frontiers crossed, poems vibrating beyond the frontier of their final, but not closing, line. Maybe the last interface ('A Dream of Living Waters') can be 'bagged'.
