Taxman
Seven scythes leaned at the wall.
Beard upon golden beard
The last barley load
Swayed through the yard.
The girls uncorked the ale.
Fiddle and feet moved together.
Then between stubble and heather
A horseman rode.
George Mackay Brown
Seven scythes leaned at the wall.
Beard upon golden beard
The last barley load
Swayed through the yard.
The girls uncorked the ale.
Fiddle and feet moved together.
Then between stubble and heather
A horseman rode.
from Fishermen with Ploughs (Hogarth Press, 1971), and included in The Collected Poems of George Mackay Brown (John Murray, 2005)
Reproduced by permission of the Estate of George Mackay Brown