Gin I Was God - by
I’d cast my coat again, rowe up my sark,
An’, or they’d time to lench a second ark,
Tak’ back my word an’ sen’ anither spate,
Droon oot the hale hypothec, dicht the sklat
early 20th century poems
Heraclitus - by
They taul’ me, Heraclitus, that ye had worn awa’:
/ I grat to mind hoo aft we ca’d the crack atween the…
To Exiles - by
Are you not weary in your distant places,
/ Far, far from Scotland of the mist and storm,
/ In drowsy airs,…
Bannocks o’ Barley - by
Just gie us a griddle, a guid Cu’-ross griddle,
/ A neivefu’ o’ salt and the side o’…
Hey, Jock, are ye Glad ye ‘Listed? - by
Hey! Jock, are ye glad ye ‘listed?
/ O Jock, but ye’re far frae hame!
/ What d’ye think…
A Lay of the Links - by
It’s up and away from our work to-day,
/ For the breeze sweeps over the down;
/ And it’s hey…
Advice to a Young Author - by
First begin
/ Taking in.
/ Cargo stored,
/ All aboard,
/ Think about
/ Giving out.
/ Empty ship,
/ Useless trip!
/
/ Never strain
/ Weary brain.
/ Hardly fit,
/ Wait a bit!
/ After rest
/ Comes the best.
/ Sitting still,
/ Let it fill;
/ Never…
To the Generation Knocking at the Door - by
Break — break it open; let the knocker rust:
/ Consider no ‘Shalt not,’ nor no man’s ‘must’;
/ And, being entered, promptly take…
The Last Journey - by
I felt the world a-spinning on its nave,
/ I felt it sheering blindly round the sun;…
Fisher Jamie - by
Puir Jamie’s killed. A better lad
/ Ye wouldna find to busk a flee
/ Or burn a pule or…
The Shorter Catechism - by
When I was young and herdit sheep,
/ I read auld tales o’ Wallace wight;
/ My heid…
The South Countrie - by
I never likit the kingdom o’ Fife –
/ Its kail’s as cauld as its wind and rain,…