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  • Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa
    George Campbell Hay
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  • The Smoky Smirr o Rain
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The Smoky Smirr o Rain

Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa
George Campbell Hay

A misty mornin’ doon the shore wi a hushed an’ caller air,
an’ ne’er a breath frae East or West tie sway the rashes there,
a sweet, sweet scent frae Laggan’s birks gaed breathin’ on its ane,
their branches hingin beaded in the smoky smirr o rain.

The hills aroond war silent wi the mist alang the braes.
The woods war derk an’ quiet wi dewy, glintin’ sprays.
The thrushes didna raise for me, as I gaed by alane,
but a wee, wae cheep at passin’ in the smoky smirr o rain.

Rock an’ stane lay glisterin’ on aa the heichs abune.
Cool an’ kind an’ whisperin’ it drifted gently doon,
till hill an’ howe war rowed in it, an’ land an’ sea war gane.
Aa was still an’ saft an’ silent in the smoky smirr o rain.


Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa
George Campbell Hay

from Wind on Loch Fyne (Oliver and Boyd, 1948), and included in Collected poems and songs of George Campbell Hay (Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa), edited by Michel Byrne (Edinburgh: EUP for The Lorimer Trust, 2000). Hay revised the poem into a longer, eight verse poem in 1983, which can also be found in his Collected poems and songs.

Reproduced by permission of The W.L. Lorimer Memorial Trust Fund

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Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa
George Campbell Hay1915 - 1984

George Campbell Hay is unique among the poets of the interwar Scottish Renaissance movement in having written in all three of Scotland's principal literary languages.
More about Deòrsa Mac Iain Deòrsa
George Campbell Hay

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