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  • Scottish Soil
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Scottish Soil

Stuart MacGregor

They brought me
Seven handfuls of soil in seven bags
And a blindfold. “Now braggart,
Prove your boast and
Show us which is the earth that bore you.”
And they paled when I
Murmured “Scotland” and was
Right. I was silent
When they asked me “how the hell”, for
The mad-house was never my
Ambition. How could I explain that
My fingers had found the
Blood of my fathers between
The gritty grains, or that
It had moved like
A hot tongue against my palm
And whispered “coward” to my
Hand?


Stuart MacGregor

from Poems and Songs (Loanhead: Macdonald Publishers, 1974)

Reproduced by permission of the author’s Estate.

Tags:

bullying identity Scotland Scotland soil
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Stuart MacGregor1935 - 1973

Doctor, poet, and song writer, Stuart MacGregor was hailed in the 1970s as one of Scotland’s coming poets, but his early death has resulted in literary neglect, although his songs are still being sung.
More about Stuart MacGregor

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