Articles categorised as Culture
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Flittin, Nae Mince etc.
Weil, I'm back on bloggin efter a wee whilie awa. Jist flittit twa week syne, sae aye trying tae redd out a nummer o fankles that's no richt just yet. It's guid tae see thon veidio "Nae...
Neologisms
...weil, I haed tae blog on it suiner or later, jist be gled it's no spellin... Ane o first things a bodie rins up agin in Scots writin is the nummer o wurds ye see that dinna resemble the...
A Sober Student Looks at MacDiarmid
Weil, first aff I maun say "weil duin" tae Billy Kay on gettin his honorary degree frae the University of the West of Scotland (read about it i the news section o the site). He ralley deserrs...
Sangschaw 2009
The Scots language Society has announced its yearly literary competition, called Sangschaw. The Society administrator, John Law, commented that this competition contributes to the status of the...
SLS Annual Collogue
The Annual Collogue of the Scots Language Society will take place on Saturday 10 October 2009 at the A.K. Bell Library, York Place, Perth. This year’s theme is ‘The Interaction between Scots and...
I wis about tae pit up a link tae the campaign tae get Facebook i Scots, but I jist saw the story on the hame page afore I did! Oniewey, here's the link, alang wi twa-thrie ithirs for onie o ye...
New paper on history of language study in Orkney and Shetland
In Orkney in July participants at the conference of the Forum for the Languages of Scotland and Ulster heard a fascinating paper from Professor Michael Barnes on the history of the study of the...
Starting Thursday – Sheena Blackhall reads Minnie on SLC site
From September the Scots Language Centre will be delivering more audio and video based features to its ever growing online audience. Sheena Blackhall’s novella, Minnie, will be podcast on the...
European Day o Leids
The ithir day wis the European Day o Leids - though I'd no hae kent thon gin I haedna seen it on the BBC wabsite the ithir day. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/edl/). I haed a wee keik at the...
New RLS Website Now Live
A new website about the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson is now live on the internet. With full information about RLS’s life, pictures never before seen by the public and downloadable...
Question in Scots Makes Parliament History
History was made in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 7 January when an SNP MSP became the first person to ask a parliamentary question and a follow-up question in Scots. Western Isles MSP...
Shetland web site
This is a link to a webside dedicated to Shetland dialect and culture. Created by the Shetland dialect campaign group Shetland ForWirds, it contains education resources for all levels, information...
Sign up for the Barras story
A project using film and oral history to uncover the social and cultural history of the Barras - Glasgow's famous market - is being developed by Diversity Films. To find out more and to sign up...
Draft article
The Times reports that the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, which was finished on 12 May, will be the first in the country to use Scots to explain its collection. In addition to appearing in...
Help Wanted in Publishing the Old Testament in Scots
The Blether Region blog reports that Kenneth Fraser, long-time author of the Lallans column in the monthly Scots Independent, is appealing for help in bringing to publication an almost complete...
An app’s an app for a’ that
Ahead of this year's Burns night, the Scottish Government has released a Burns app for the iPhone. As well as including more than 550 of the Bard's poems and love songs, the app gives users a...
Scottish Government Responds to Literature Working Group Report
On 4 February, the Scottish Government produced its official response to the literature working group’s report. Among many other points, the group recommended that the Government should encourage...
The Cyard's Kist
'There's nae guid comes A's wrack, fin the Cyards are here Wi a birn o bairns at their back An their hawkin gear.'Bit the lassie didna listShe wis mad tae lift the sneck On the cyard's kist.There...
Hedgehogs
A bourich o preens That's quick tae fleg; Twa bitticks o' een An a wee, wee neb;Come scooshlin oot, wi the starry mune Fin whins are dark an the walks are teem.Far they come frae, naebody kens,...
The Cyard's Coortin'
He hawked a puckle pots an' pans,Till — scunnered o' the wark,He timmered up the kindlin'Till the swat ran doon his sarkSyne he wat his whussle freelyFrae a coggie keepit handyAn' thochties turned...
Images
If I gaed blin the mornThere's sichts, like draps o dew, Wid bricht the dark...Wippet an warm, safe within, An' niver tyned.I can mak Winter, Spring;Fin I've a mind.Lyin, stibble-chaffed, i' the...
Lost Youth
As I gaed ower the stormy muir The sky was riven like the sea;The muir-fowl fled the onding's rage, Aroon the sleet fell cruelly.'Whaur are ye gaun on sic a nicht?'The reeshlin bracken seemed tae...
The Tryst
Twa lovers trysted bi the birk,The lass had munelicht in her een, Bit creepin saftly throw the mirk The waukrife lad had nane.Warm was his kiss an' strang his airm, The blin-sicht mowdie turned...
The Lintie
The lintie lichtit on the bough Abune twa lovers trueAn' sweet an' lang she sang her lilt Fin love wis fresh, an' new.Fin love grew auld, the bird cam' backBit didna hinner lang For `Fegs,' quo'...
A Guid New Year
Fin e're the auld year hirples oot In ilka hame the toast is raised An yet, ahin the Season's cheer Hidden awa, the hint o' fearFor the Past is safe ahin us:A barn, wi the hairst stap-fu;Fit lies...
Homecoming
The salmon swims tae the lochan's briest, The bees win hinney frae the muir, Sae 'tis wi me a tug at the hairtAn it's sair, man, sair...Tae stan at the mou o' the quate hoose Whaur ilka room is...
Glen Muick
The skies drift doon — a dreepin' blur That maks o' Ben an' brae a shroud As if grown weary o' the lan' The mountain coories i' the cloud An' naething steers within this warld 0' stormy lift, an'...
Sklaik
'Ye dinna tell me — damn the bit —' (A glimmer lichts the ee, Syne a the sklaik comes scalin oot, Like midden oozin bree.)It's pintless, syne, tae quanter them —Their argument's entire; 'There's...
Hist ye back
The howlet, teetin' frae the wid Jeloosed the moosie's track A dainty nippicky o' furA tasty hist ye backThe yowe gaed stytrin' throw the whin Oer oot-rigs lang, an' black;As hunkrin' doon, wi'...
Mither Tongue
Written on hearing the Rev. Lamont's Service in Scots, Denburn Parish Church ’Twis a gey stammygaster, a meenister spikkin’ like yon — Nane o’ yer peely wally affairs, that hae ye hodgin’ i’ the...
The Dominie
The dominie thocht it an unca thing, The Mither tongue.Like Sabbath braws, he glorified gentility An’ hauled ma kail daily throw the rick Dubbin’ the Doric orra, coorse, ill-fared A peer realtion...
Sunday School Picnic
At first peep o’ the whussle we were aff — Hyterin by whins, a tattie wummlin’ on my speen, Pechin tae win the line.Chae cam first — a sleekit limmer o a loon, Swickin, his tattie held doon, firm,...
Hen’s Lament
It’s nae delight tae be a hen, Wi’ clooks an claws an caimb. Reestin wi the rottansIn a hen-hoose for a hame.Nae suner div I sattle doon,My clutch o’ bairns tae hatch;The fairm-wife comes — a...
Halloween
Fin nichts draw in an fires burn high An antrin bogies glower inbye An leaves gang tapsalteerie ower... Canny! Yon’s the witchin hour.Lift the neeps frae yont the dyke. Howk them oot wi muckle...
A Sair Miss
For A.J. Blackball, World Barley Champion Set doonWi the wecht o years at his back,A sklyter o yird flung ben,As a last fareweel.The mourners staun like hoodie craws Ower near the mou o the grave...
The Bogie
The Bogie bides abune the brae As queer as cannel-licht,For in a dwaum, I spied him there, Ae ghaistly, gurley nicht.His heid is hapt wi’ stringly web He hirples back an ben,A muckle humfy-backit...
Eternal Record
‘Pit yer penny on the plate,’ said Ma o’ rectitude, a pillar —(My need wis greater nor the kirk’s It AYE wis wintin siller.) ‘An dinna glower at me like yonWi’ sic a gurley look The Lord is...
Pet Shop
A hingin-luggit rabbit baps its feet, Its loupin’ snibbit in,Yarks its snoot, teetle the pen, Syne bauchles back, doup doon, Duntin the cage, in bye-gaun, Wi’ its croon.Heezin up abaneA squatter o...
Bairn-Sang
There’s a hole i’ the sky,At the back o’ the dayTae gang til’t naebody daursFor there, like a barfit bairn, stauns nicht Wi his neive stap-fu o’ starsThe day creeps oot, wi a hirplin’ gait A...
Shuffled Pack
There’s been misdeals, aboot the antrin pair A queen o’ hairts, his sattled wi’ a joker. Bit Matrimony’s an unchancy thingA gamble, like a skeely game o’ pokerThe bairns are trumps — I ken the...
Teem Slate
A tousie heid booed ower her latest trock (The cheapest wylins frae the sweetie shop) Bairn-pleased, an naethin blateWi twa, three, sticks o’ chalk,An’ a teem slate.A half-oor saw it cast aside...
In Absentia
‘Mak the maist o’t noo — Ye’r a lang time deid.’ Jokin’ like, the auld sang... Ay, bit it gars ye think An’ its nae sae wrang.I widna be comfyLoupin aboot wi muckle wings, Face as shiny’s a...
The Sodjer
Heatherin eerin orin aye,The drums are dirlin lood ootbye; Hiddledum diddledum deitherin deist, The pipes are willin the lads tae list.Too roo rantin reeHine awa an ower the sea; Hudderin heiderin...
Pastoral
Toun-fowk, wi' their cant o' couthie fairms O' reid-cheek't bairns, an hamely fare O' reemin brose bowls, sickle an the seed, Hinna the stab o' the plooIn their hairt's bluid.Like rattens i' the...
Dispossession
“See yon bit fairm on the brae-heid Stracht’s a cock’s caimb? Craw-wheeled biggins, cauld as leid, Reid, in the sun’s flame? Wir fowk aince vrocht yon lan, Kent ilkie stick an steen, Dour,...
Land Hunger
A dreep on the trough faas doon,The gate o’ the cattle- coort wallops ajee,The herdsman’s hishin the latchy kye till the byre, Sottar an tyauve, are the terms o’ a fairmer's fee.The plyter...
Dork's No Dodo
For Cuthbert Graham Fowk spik aboot Scots Ay, wir ain Doric leid As if 'twis a dodoWha'd drappit doon deid!As mad tae conserve an preserve the auld wirds, As a gleg taxidermist, wi putrifeed...
Horse Hurl
for Andrew Watt, Farmer, New Deer “Ye'd sic a hurl on him, as far's the gate? Ah weel, he's foonert noo, an quate.”A hard-vrocht haun, scrat-fu o girse an straeHeistit me hine ower whin an dyke,...
A Mither Tint
Isobel Booth, Hillhead of Cairnie, SkeneThe mistress o' Tipperton, couthie and kind, She winted fur naething that siller cud gie, Wi only her chuckens, an calfies till tend, There's nane hid as...
The Spae Wife
Hidden awa, in a neuk o' the fair,Slicht, an sleekit, an sly,The spae wife sits, in the spae wife's tent, Watchin the fowk gaun by.Hidden awa, in her lang-luggit lair, Her skill, the gift o' the...
The Gowk and the Star
His kyte's weel happit, Fed an wattered reg'lar; His sheen are blaiked,His galluses are buttoned. He kens tae pairt his hair, If there be wint, that wint, Is nae fur claes.It's Reason, that he's...
Fishie's Van
Aladdin's cave, the fishie's van, Lions hug the seerip tin,Jars, wi pearly clouds o' bubble Pickelt ingins, soor as sin.The fishie's fuskered like a walrus,Hauns as steeny-cauld's a hake, Een like...
Dalriggin
Dalriggin wis sleekit — he'd teeth like a meer's,A snicher tae match them — a tongue like a shears, That'd clip ye tae size — he'd the braidth o' yer claith, Ye'd be thrimmles an thrummles afore...
Balmennie's Nell
She'd a lip wi' a mowser,Balmennie's wife Nell,Wi' a tongue that gaed clack,Like the haimmers o' Hell.A pirn-taed, obstreperous deem, Wi' her dander sae easy caad up, Like the stoor frae a...
Noah
The Lord looked doon on Noah, Said “Turn ilkie stick an stane, An capture ivery kind o' beast Afore it sterts tae rain.”They nippit up the gang plank, Strippit, spottit, black, an broon, Syne Noah...
Jist Dan
Stringin the wirds thegither, Like a blin man threidin beads, Fu's a puggie, hyterin happily Breeks bumshayvelt, spayver lowsedAe fit forrit, three steps back: Deef, tae peety or blame.Abody's...
Halloween
A chap at the door — a lichtit neep Rikken o' cannel-flame.The pitterin-patt o' feery feet; Guisers, thrangin the lane.The fleggit myowt o' a lanely bairn, Wha kens that aa's nae richt,Wis yon a...
Twa Bairn Days
Ile on Troubled WatterFive years auld.He caa'd me "Wee pudden"I caa'd him ower,Neived his wirds intil a ticht knot, Knuckled wi' Biblical accuracy, Richt intil his left ee.It moved, a jeely...
Wirds
Crusty, compact as a crabThe thorn o' wir hale confab, We canna lay hauns on't easyNiver say dab.Ruggin compliments frae us Is nae mean feat — Pairtin a sookin bairn Frae its mither's teat.Awkward...
Ophelia
Watter ay jives, leaves nae untidy seam. A salmon loup's bit a haun's clap, The neives knit ticht thegither,Haudin sic thochts! Derk, as Excalibur.Cast in a random steen,A muckle, gapin wound,...
The Reiver
Gin I cud haud the peesie in her flichtAn catch the sang that hovers in her throatGin I cud track the leverick ben the nichtAn reive the liltin limmer o' her noteI'd hae a sang wirth singin.Gin I...
Doon an Oot
A doon-an-oot. A wino. Her face wis minkit. Lord, she stank tae High HeavenTart's nails, beetroot reid,Braith, sickly sweet, Fit scaffie's binForgot tae pit the tin Lid on her?I tell ye I hid tae...
Condemned Building
Peint wirks winners, Happen a crack here,A death-watch beetle there ...The "For Sale" sign's doon, Naebody'd buy. Structurally spikkin,It's nae in a guid wye.It niver wis soun, i' the first place....
The Thwarted Suitor
That ony quine sud bring me doon, I' faith — it's maist provokin, I'm saft's a bap fin Belle's aroon, She disna gie a docken!I'd like tae fauld her tae ma breist, (An muckle mair beside)Bit dour's...
Tinker's Sang
The tinker sang aneth the meen,O' Love gaen wrang, the auld lament, O' aathing tint, an aathing taen, As if its sorra he hid kent.As birdies wheeple roon the gean, An pree the cherries frae the...
Miss McBrodie
Hard on the meenit-heid She snibs her buik.Her schule-marm suit,Sterched stiff, in Bible black, Nae fripperies o' stertlin fite For the bairns' distraction.Perjink — "Ye'll write yon oot...
Breem Beddit
The wids are wide, the heather's thick, It wraps her roon, a bonnie plaidie, The bracken winna clype nor cheep, The lea-lang nicht, he held her steady.An fin auld age creeps in twa-fauld, Maks o'...
Narcissus
Gin Narcissus hid bin human,(Insteid o' a wee powder puff o' whimsy) He'd nae been mesmerised b' mirrors. Mebbe the chiel wis real eneuch,Findin Reality a thochtie teuch, Forgot tae dicht his...
Lot's Wife
Luikin back, she saw her maiden-sel; Her sma breist, warmIn the palm o' his langin,The sliddery girse, the broon yird Movin aneth them.Twa in ain,A Beltane jinin,Makkin a wumminOot o' a trimmlin...
Winter Wooin
Smoorichin saftly throw the fir A wooer in a silken veilIs the sleety smirr,The doon-scud, i' the burnie's dreel, Dird-dirlin roon frae tap till tail, Is the fiddler's reel.The birks staun...
The Roundabout
Each man's an embryo-cell, Each mither cairries,A livin waa o' bluid,Limits wir scope,Sneckit within,The derkness o' heredity.Bairnhood swaps ae confine For anither. Tethered ahin The apron...
Time Scale
Gin the clouds war teemin graves, Scalin the horde o' humanity, Back, till the hinmaist generation, Aa their pith an pooer,Doon in a steep rain,'Twid be a short shower, tummlin.Ye may rin tae the...
Bull
Hinnered b' dark,I gaed unsteady fittit.The steadin's bulk, moose-squeakin In the cat's paw, o' the torch.It fixed a hingin towe, A scaled sack,In its selective clook. The kent road wrang, Stanes...
Towser
Towser — got on a wirkin bikk, The Lord kens whaur,B' a sire that wis three quarts wolf, Touch, gin ye daur.He'd seek yer haun, sud the humour suit, A roch, weet tongue, an a powkin snoot, At a...
Hame-Drauchtit
There's waur-aff fowk;I've a hoose, an a rikkin lum, I've meat in ma wame,An a puckle o years tae come; Bit lang's the unquate nicht Fin the clash o the day is deen. An oh, it's a sair-made...
Glen Muick i' the Mither Tongue
The skies drift doon — a dreepin blur That maks o Ben an brae a shroud. As if grown weary o the lan, The mountain coories i' the cloud An naething steers within this warld O stormy lift, an...
Lochnagar in Autumn
D'ye see yon lowrin BenBroon as the brackened grun, Lordin the hale o the glen, Darklin oot the sun?Its burns come whummlin doon, Croonin their ain lament, Wheeplin their wee bit tune Wi the gowd...
Allt Darrarie
Burn of the Stunning Noise, Glen MuickSlaverin, slubberin, gibberin, gabberin, Roon wi a wallop, a sklyter, a sweel,Yonder's the burn, in its bairnhood, it's blabberin Heich-lowpin puddock, wi...
The Salmon
Oh tae be a salmon, comin skelpin doon the Dee! Simmer scalin ower ma tail,Lowpin through the linns,Wummlin ower the rapids, i' the cauld, snaw bree, An jinkin as the fishers wi ma fins.I widna...
Dee Journey
A caller skelp o stane an storm, Braeriach's sides are tempest-torn; An in yon weety, derksome wame, Whaur win is ice an sun's a flame, The birlin Dee is born. A sna-brig haps her growin tide,-...
Beaker Scot
I live,Anely as pairt o this braid lan,This knottit neive o cliff an furlin gull Staunin atween the neep parks an the sea.I luik,Anely as pairt o the raven lift, Gadhelic widden-dreme,O a tummelt...
Ower Blate
The gangrel kittlin's feart tae raxx an purr In perfect warmth afore the forkit flameAn sae bides ootlinned-neuked, bedraiggled fur, Nur winna steer the reid hearth-heat tae claim.The table's...
The Slichtit Lassie's Sang
Hard an sudden, as the huntsman's shot Sinks i' the saftness o the snawy dove,Deep as the dirk on its derk business quests, I' the gralloch o the stag,Sae wad I loue ye, love.I'd mak my skin as...
Year's End
The bonnie birds are winged an gaen, Yowes hug the dykes like driven sna: The anely cry that rings the rigs, The brukken caa'in o the craw.An cauldly cruel's the win that cuts The birks sae barely...
The Bonnie Banks o Dee
Tho Springtime gars the sna-bree rin An sweet's the day, wi blossom bricht, Oh yatterin peesie haud yer wheesht, For as tae me is constant nicht.Tho simmer turn the barley broon, The sonsie heids...
The Back o Beyond
Linn o QuoichFit div ye dae at the Back o Beyond? 'Twid tak me a year tae tell!As weel coont gowd in a goblin's crock Or steek the sea-in a shell.Ye may lizard-lie on a lazy rock, A sprig o an...
Ballater Bairnhood
Rage they did till their tongues were lair -- Faith — nettle's a gey short sting. A skelpit dowp an a grumphin glower, Ne'er clippit a lintie's wing.I niver cared, dell nur docken,They micht...
Watter
Raither than rainin cats an dugs, Whit if it rained doon fowk insteid? Dreichdoms o dominies; Lochans o artists;Puddles o Civil Servants Pitterin ower yer held?A muckle, great, clorty sea; O...
The Guardian on the Return of Scots
As part of a series on what Scottish independence would mean, The Guardian carried an article about the return of the Scots language last Friday. The article mentions MSPs taking the oath in Scots...
Abyne Games
Noo — nae anither hurl on yon, I'm tellin ye — ca-cannie,Ye'd think the siller grew on trees! Oh — there's thon affa mannie;It's “Ye'll dae this,” an “Ye'll dae yon”: (He's jist a perfeck...
Twa Chiels
ChaeTam luiked at Chae, an saw a gype ... Bit Jock said,"Na — he's shy,He's eeseless, harmless, scuttery, Bit och, it's jist his wye.”Jean luiked at Chae, an thocht him dreich, Nae tuned fur...
Auld Will
Half-seas-ower wis his hooseLike a dreep on the drap,A tummelt-doon dykeWi a lum at its tap.There wis stew on the mantlepieceStrae on the rugAn the lino wis near as moth-etten's the dug.Its...
The Cuckoo Clock
Miss Hardie grippit inno a flooery peenie,The stoor o her chalk gaun screichin in pluffs o virr, Wi the chuffie-cheeks o a post-war Mussolini, Kept 40 bairns in a state o perpetual birr.A gran an...
A Dauner Ben Eden
The Tree o LifeThrough sna an sun the spurgies cheep. Hame-haudin birds their flicht is sma An ay a cheery ootluik keep,Their plain concerns a watergaw.Wing heicher up the Tree o LifeThe corbie,...
Kennin
Fin asked, fit is a yeitie?Ane wid describe its class, t'ither, its mak Its station in the hierarchy o birds, Its dietary fads, an reproduction. Nae me; a yalla yeitie's soun,A simmer cheepin in...
Heelstergowdie
On the heidy bield o the hill, Sib tae the glaissy starns, Catchin their shine in yer haun(Thon brukken spars o Infinity)Ye staun, fishin the lift For the eident meen:An ant, assumin a mantle o...
Alpha an Omega
Sang till the Unborn BairnYe slippit aneth ma breist, Murmerin thrum o life, Soomin in secret watter Kittle an blythe.I maun cairry an keep ye, Bairn i' the bane, Trimmlin sap i' the leaf, Wecht...
Phoenix
A misanthropic meenister. A black shag. His pulpit-pouer bigged heich On a Satanic crag.I coored frae his goun that flapped, Wide as the wings o Hell,A pinioned, fledglin bairn. Bumbazed, on...
Phantasmagoria
for J.D.Gomersall]The ghaistly dancers starred abeen The crescent o the sickle meen, Slide sounless roun a seamless cave, Swingin their lanterns ower the lave.Flickerin patterns on a waa,Ilk...
From “Le Roman Inacheve”, Love which is not a word
by Louis Aragon, freely reset in Scots. Fur Rene Magritte.Ye fan me, like a stane scrauned frae the shore, Like a tint, fremmit ferlie, o unkent design, Like dulse on a sextent, scaled frae the...
The Corbie
He draps frae the dyke, a sweengin gibbetRaxxin his warlock's duds. His weird, misshapen clooks Gang wigglety-wagglety ower the girse. Untender.A render o deid flesh, he'd pyke the een frae a...
Jumbo
A humphy skyscraper, the jumboSkushles along like a lan'-locked, pensioned tar; A showdie Titanic, trailin His tooshtie o tail ahin, like a bargee's towe. Grounded, yon cargo o' guffs, Yon...
Phobias
Fin rattens chitter ahin the door Drookit an clorty, sleekit forby, Reeshlin aroon the fit o yer bed, Far'll ye fly?Fin the neuks are hotchin abeen yer heid, Wi spiders deistin doon till yer...
Deid Hawk
Twa worm-bored holesChunnerin maggots, pykin a daylicht path in the hunter's een A secunt sicht, its riven waas, ant brewinGuffs o rot as great as its lang faBringer o Daith, levelled till...
The Rites o Hairst
The winter howe's a hermit. A pious note or twa, Faas, frae the chaste fingers o a yew.Black upon fite, convents o birksIncant their beads o snaw in nun-like silence. Spring's barfit...
Leaf
Tak ae wee leaf. A' piper o thin notesIn ony back-green symphony,Its widlan warld, thirled tae the hum o leevin.Vibrancy o rain (surely it wad reca) aince glimmered alang its stem. Yet, in...
Village Shop
There's bagfus o kinnlin, there's kebbucks o cheese There's pirls o ingins, doonhingin in queues Bit the chiel in command wi the dark dungarees Wints a boorich o blethers, a nippick o news.The...
Prodigal
Kenspeckle craiturs, the fairm-dyeuk's eggs Keepit thir ain shells An thirsels tae thirsels. The foremaist flew aff in a cloud o stoor Ower steadin an meen — the darin' een.The lave, on a tichter...
Dawn an Gloam
Dawn steers, half-drooned in sleep, droggit wi dwaumin. Dreams link hauns an flee, nicht-thistledown,Blawn, bi the lip o waukfulness. Shaddae-thochts wither awa Like frichtit fawns.The dawn's a...
Sufi Oor-glaiss
Time is a Bedouin, reengin the lanCupped frae the desert, the gangrel o san Teems, sweengin her skirts in a birlin o broon A burnie o meenits, gaun whummlin doonA jimp-wasted glaiss ye may cowp in...
Buik-Learnin
"A dominie, lass, is a man amang loons Nae denyin ye that — Bit a loon amang men.The craiturs are aa verra weel —Bit fit div they ken aboot calvin, or hyowin, Or onythin' eese?Thon oot-lyin parks,...
Intercity
Deil the skirp o burn or loch Embankments, heich an hilly. Dashin by, a streek o rock Dykes an Wanderin Willie, Sookit hard's a pandrop Swallaed bi a tunnelDark's a mowdie's drainpipe Black's a...
Nor' Sea
A rim o unhapt, drooned, unhaly, things, The beach bubbles dereliction.A brukken fish box floats,Affcast frae nets.Oot a place, oot o jointArticles, wha've tint their anchor Nae pointO'...
Last Tango in Aiberdeen
"Are ye dancing?"Torry rock, an Bon-Accordion jive.Queen B. o the hive."Na. It's jist the wye I'm staunin."The raws o wallflooers wilted,Batted petal-een o scunner an mascaraFashioned tae be...
Across a Crowded Room
after Botticelli's Primavera "Yer weirin yon glekit luik," quo ma pal. "Like ye've won the pools. Lettin yer thochts hing oot. Face rearranged like a Braque. This is the granite city. Stiff upper...
Twa Limmers
Tantalus War he a reed, she'd rax tae be his bowThe reeshlin, randy strae, she'd stap the manger War he a stag, she'd be the hummel doe An wi him, thole the brunt o ony dangerA Springtime...
Sunday Service
Twa peaks o' prayer, Kate Wabster's hauns are pyntit Her heid's held heich — bit the blessin o' God is tint An fa'd hae thocht, as ane o the Lord's annointed She'd tyne her sense, fur a chief she...
Bitter Sweet
Ye think the sun should shine as day? It widna please the gairdeners!An gin the rain ding doon the hay It fair dismays the fairmers.The snoddest rose will job yer thoomb, The aipple rot, an...
Litter o' Love
They neither winted fur claes, nur care Nur a piece fur the playtime bell Fowks quick tae gie, an slow tae blame(Far there's nocht tae blacken their ain guid name) Kennin the wye things sat at...
Sugar 'n' Spice
Hid yon guid wirds been writ fur me,“Turn ye the ither cheek”Thole twa black een, far wan wid dee. God wid hae made me meek.Sugar 'n' Spice an aathing nice?Na — bit a hill-cat's spitAn the...
Granny's Pet
His seeven lives rin oot thrice ower. He's swack's a kittlin-breenge an bob. As weel he micht — my gleyin glower's A kettle, hotterin on the hob.Aince bile, an it's a clippin cloor Bit granny...
Blin Robin
A hallyrackit billie, galluses agley Roch-chinned; ye'd crack a spunk Upon the stibble(Twa days growth forby).A weel-worn chielIt seemed as thoughHe'd seen it as dane it as Stramashes — booze —...
Joseph Gillanders
Joseph Gillanders, o a siccar raceHim, o the rovin haun, an rovin eeO passions kept a brace.Love o a comely queat, an a fat bawbeeAn whaur his brethern culled a single bloom Joseph Gillander's...
North East Neuk
For the late Dr. Cuthbert GrahamCorn maun be gaithered, sortit, stookit snod Unbiggit sheaves will niver cam tae ocht Tae showder, wullinly, anither's loadHandsel a hairst o wirds, wide-reengin...
Mither Tongue
Fit's a whigmaleerie?Dinna speir at me!Them that speirs nae questions, Arena telt a lee!Fit's a stammygaster?Fegs, ye dinna ken?Ye've as little on yer tongue's The teeth upon a hen!Fit's...
Meditation Nummer Ane
fur Ian ScorgieI drew frae the conjuror's hat A whylie's silence.Through the stage-door trap,I drapt, in unencumbered solitude Doon, in a well o' quietudeThe wheels unfurl yonderThe cardboord...
The Pearl
The pearl's a frozen shard o skaith, The ovum, in the oyster reest, A glimmerin orb o clammy daith, Pierced canker, in a rendrin breist.Cauld gem, the wastrel ocean's bairnO aa the ferlies kent on...
Archaeologist
Ah'm an archaeologist.Ah open tombs. Dream dreams. Ficherin with the jigsawO ma ain past,Ah've managed tae drap it; An illusion, in smithereens.Ithers get the sarcophagus.Ah get the curse.Ony...
Reflections
The timmer-heided tree,Dis it consider the skirp o growth, The Adam bud o its reet?Raxxed till the complexity o a twig;Dis it fear the, rot that hungers fur its fa?An wid it murn, aince yearly,The...
Strathbogie Spring
As I gaed doon b' Huntly toun I heard a cushie wheeple,A hummel doo, her cutty goun Wis hamely as her threeple."I anely sik a bittie corn A sma thing, tae be speirin. An fa wad gie a bird the...
Time Lords
Written late evening, Glen MuickTwa ferlies frae a torn poochThat fortunes winna save — Drap man an woman — coins o chanceThe derk loch claims them baith.Aa tyauve, achievement, sweetness,...
Patterns of Life
A bigsie chiel, o sma accoont,Liftit his heid ae dayAn frae the verra founs o ignorance, bespak That aa aroon, stars, sun, an warldWis some cosmic mishanter, a celestial mistak. Nae mishanter...
Visitors
Car-loads o scunners on the haik,Brigades o' Sabbath swanks,Troosers pressed hard as tramlines Thick-skinned, as Kaiser's tanks."Visitors," quo granny, "Are like fish.Kept ower lang, they...
Strangers, tak tent
Bog slumbers deep; aince breech the skin, ye'll sink. Wauk circumspect, we arena surface fowk,Spreadin wir braws fur ony gangrel tinkRaxxin wir mou', tae gibber wi a gowk.We keep a cannie clutch,...
Responsible
The aik wis michty, Samson-strang. The girnin Ivy crept alang Furlin aroon lik bough an bark Wyvin the aik a secunt sark,She speired an socht, "Look efter me!" Sookin the guidness frae yon...
Seed-Cycle
Frae seed tae bud, an hinmaist, seed again As in its prime, the blossom croons the stem Sae, in yon flooer's yirdly spanWe see the pattern o a man.I think it is the hardest thing o aa,Tae watch...
The Dall
The dall, since glen tae me Wis jeelin as dule.Wis't a gift, or a toolA likeness o whit quines sud be?Fit weird a lassie maun dree? Fyeuchie's a wirm, Fooshionless, blae, still-born Wis the dall...
Puppeteer
I liked tae pu the towes. Gar things lowp till a set threid O fancy, as ma ain devisin. Nae Punch and Judy styte. Na; high-falutin stuff. Lear, Montrose, John Knox ... Smilin as I pit them through...
Heilan Games
Anither Games. It trysts them back Like salmon up the burn — The glen fowk, the Ben fowk, sae thick ye canna turn Fur frienly Celtic bourichies; the faimlies intertwine An ay the ripple throw the...
Generation Gap
for MorvenModern bairns are additive stappit Niacin, protein, vitamin CGie them brose — they winna takk it Yoghurt, yak's-dirt MuesliModern bairns gie shears the go-by Spike hair, pink's a soo's...
The Granary
Seeven crouse years in Pharoah's lan The craps grew swete an green.Seeven coorse years in Pharoah's lan The hairstin rigs stude teem.Feint the reeshle o a grainFeint the corn tae gleanSeeven green...
Celestial Discourse
Lord,Fyle the sermon wyes yer wecht in wirdies,(The lave, heids-booed, sit stinch, on dottlit hurdies) WID YE HEAR, Omnipotence, fa plenished the sea GIN I SPEIR (presumptious tho it be)Ae...
Holy Willies
Heroes ye niver hear oGlower, mealie-mooed an beetle-brooed At Ne'er dae weels,Tow-rags, flee-ups, an ither gallus chiefs Fa mak a cheery kirk or mill o' Life, An sweeten't wi a lassie, or a...
Sisyphus
It wis a doddle; rowin yon stane till the tap Balancin peace o' Mind ower a towerin drap Deistit up frae the foun.Contrary, the stane cowped doon;A game fur the young an swack.Bein gallus, an gey...
Incommunicado
I stopped tae spik wi Wattie Spence, He wis a moosie, gaitherin corn.His hale confab, wis pounds an pence The nest, he'd feather-bed the morn.I stopped tae spik wi John McBride He cheeped...
Eurydice
I am telt, Eurydice, that ghaists maun be laid.That the heidstane maun slide on the lid o the past. That worritin auld banes, is an unhalesome pastime The last luik o ye, quine.Maun be jist yon —...
Twa Ferlies
Aince, I wis gaen twa ferlies, a keepsake an a toy. The keepsake wis a vase o sic a purityIt mirrored aathin, heicht, an depth, an licht; Greedy fur images, it sooked them inTae its reflective...
Crockery in Confab
A puckle affcast crockery wid news,Jined b' Adversity, grown fell compatible, Voicin their sair predicament, their views Set doon their worries, cairds upon the table.The trimmlin tea cup only...
Twa Roads till an End
There comes a time, at the dour back end Fin the craps are in an storedThe birds flee gyte, fur the Winter's bite's On a lan, far the growth lies smored. A fairmer traivels his ain bit grun — It's...
Room fur Remembrance
Sma fire, sma-boukit fairmer. A collie, yoamin o damp fir Its een, twa blaik dowsed coals, lies sprauchled ahin the door. Ootbye's an aipple tree, rypit o its fruit.This room, aince stoot's a...
A Gibbon on Evolution
In the monkey hoose, a gibbon, orang-ootang, an baboon, War sociably flechin, fin a veesitor walked roonA scientist. He claiked aboot the origins o man On reets an evolution ... foo humanity began...
Ulysses
Neist time that yer menfowk are late winnin hame Spare a thocht fur Penelope, sittin her lane Fur twenty lang year, in byordnar ill teenRehearsin ae question ... "Jist far hiv ye been?" He hummed,...
True Tammas
True Tammas lay on Huntly bank Bi tribulations herriet;Fur seeven years lang, this mortal man Upon a fey, wis merriet.Fit wis the gift she gied tae him, Her lover's gift, in pairtin'? A tongue...
The Pudden
A haggis an a thistle-shank, began a disputation,On fa'd be best ambassador, tae serve the Scottish nation The haggis wisna blate tae spik — (the belly o a sheep, a win' — bag cornucopia, sets...
Gowd
Charles Middleton born Aboyne 1907, died Aberdeen 1988 Dwined till a dwaum yon moss-green kindly een, His sang that raise as a shoutFin his warld wis young, crined till a myowt Late,...
Hairst-Heirskip
The baler rummles the strae Tirred, til a tousie oxterfu Bricht bourichs on the brae.Caff flees in gowden styewAs the bales dunt on the parkIn the hash an fash tae be throw Er the mochy glimmer o...
Muir o Dinnet
Hard bi the heath, the loch-fowk lie In the raxxin reeds far peesies cryAn the Culblean braes that ran wi reid Saw clash o arms,o the nameless deid Sit deuce and snod,A brimmin bowl o hedder...
The Roup
The auctioneer held haimmer ower a bid; Heistin his eyebroos heich, as if tae speir Fit price a lifetime's hairst,ingaithered? The blatterin win rattled the hard-won gear.Aince, thon braes stude...
Carn-na-Cuimhne
(Muster cairn of Clan Farquharson.)For Captain A.A.C. Farquharson,sixteenth chief of Clan Fhionnlaidh, and his wife FrancesWhaur sun's a blin an a blearie eeA well o licht, in a gurly seaAn the...
A Stane by the Allt Darrarie, Spittal o Glen Muick
Bonnie muirlan stane, Egg nestled on the grun, A tear-drap neth the air, Salmon-speckled cone, Rarer nor ony pearl, Gin I cud unsteek ye, Keek at yer core,Whit ferlies wid be there?Born o win an...
Fir Wid
for Jessie KessonI like tae lie deep doonIn a Scots fir wid.It disna sook nor clingIt's a phalanx o sword,Wi adequate room fur manoeuvreIn the resin kingdom, A fir is dragon-green It is honed tae...
Palette
Reid.Hips an haws.Hairt's bluid. Blue.Forget-me-not,Rue.Yalla.Coordy, gay.Breem spray. Green.Meevin girse.Black. Grievin, hearse.Broon.Peat burn, whummlin doon.Purple. Heather, thyme.Thon's mine!
The Yird an the Meen
For Dr Danny Gordon, Inverurie, Bennachie Baillie.She stude, a mystic mirror, A vauntie, siller queenThe barren mistress o the derk The prood an preenin meen.Alang the nicht, her moonbeams sped,...
Winter Burial, Tullich
Wummin, licht, warmth.Aa are a birth token. Dowie, the derksome hills. Mither Eird lies open,Ugsome as a wound.The cycle o life is brukken. Winter furls eldritch, aroon.A kinsman's airm, steadies...
Of Travel
Fureign destinations are fur fowk fa likes tae raikTae me, they're bit the harrigals — the puddens o a haikYet, set me doon b' Lochnagar, or twenty miles aroonIt's as though I'd tint a bawbee,...
The Swick
For Dr. & Mrs L.K.Dawson, Skene If there be ain fa canna see The beauty o the NorthFa canna hear the soundin geese That cry his fitsteps forth, He maun be blin — an deef, forby, A kiln o crackit...
Ballater Bairnhood
A pictur, bricht on the broo,O cantie streets, in the hap o a caller glen. Trig biggins, kirk, an green,A birn fur shops, stappit wi Celtic braws The warld steered throw, an ben.Nichtly, a...
The Lecht
Wis there iver sic a road as thon? The planner maun been fouIt dings yer pech intil yer pooch Yer hairt intil yer mou.Divil's Elbow? Divil's Oxter!It's a rhyme wi'oot a ruleIt's a humfy-backit...
Gangrel's Sang
At nicht fin the bairns are bedded doon The hash o the day set byI clim the stairs, as a wife maun dee An lie, far a wife maun lie.Twa sleepers, close as braith itsel Rowed in the linen fineHis...
Embro Toun
For Tom HubbardSalt on yer tail — she's a hotterin stew O the kent, the fremmit, the auld, the new The cassie-claik o the Embro hures Rikkin an rerr as Turkish flooers Fur coat frills on a bare...
Sea-Sang
For J.D.Gomersall. Burn, a mountain teems brak-neck, Nerra mill-lade, breengin beck, Ilk an ivry tribut'ry, Sikks the sea's simplicity. Inby oceans, aa is ane Skaith an tribble's dished, an...
Vanishing Aberdeen
Fin I wis wee,I chased the seaI catched it, syne it drookit me!It made me cannie, hardy, thrawn, In short, an Aiberdonian!
Watter
For Charles & Vera King.Gin wirds war watter, Oh the ploys I'd try!I'd dook me, dyeuk-delichtfu,Drookit in puils o the things!Guddle fur oors,Doonin a fyew wee drams o the real Mackay. Oh ay, I...
The Ain that Got Awa
For the members of the Charles Murray Memorial TrustFin fishy tales wir bandied, he wis keepit in his neukFor feint the fish he'd guddled, or inveiglet on his hyeuk. Bit fowk got a stammygaster,...
Dookin
Delicht taks mony forms,Yet dookin in watter's the Prince o the gowden keys. The troot in me splurges gledsome,Breengin up, in a Halloween o a bleezeO pleisur, warm as a sun-bolt,Piercin the...
Adder
Meetin the warld wi a fleerish,Ye are ...A monkish illuminationA hotterin, Hecate hissA blaik italic scroll.A rigmaroleAs lang as a swippert Ganges,A Tiber, Euphrates,A san-slidderin, nerra Nile.A...
Leaf
Tak ae wee leaf. A piper o thin notesIn ony back-green symphony,Its widlan warld, thirled tae the hum o leevin. Vibrancy o rain(Surely it wid reca)Aince glimmered alang its stem. Yet, in...
Van Gogh
Sunlicht kens nae boundsNur yet the win, the ticht grip o haudin.Nae tetherin the towes o fancy That can slip reality As quick as simmer rain.The yird may bindYon eident fingers,Mount its graissy...
For Joseph Farquharson, RA Laird of Finzean
An whau gaed ye the power, man? An whau gaed ye the airt?Tae catch the lowe o gloamin? Tae brak a body's hairt?Whaur did ye learn, tae paint the win The sab, o Autumn nicht?The eildrich mists o...
At the Gallery — Aberdeen Artist's 52nd Exhibition
Raws o windaes, picturs.Framed thocht,Spotlichts umpteen interiors. Etchins are perjink, Best-tie-an-dickie, Cannily vrocht. Action-stopper! Kamikazi colour Hollers a hulloo. There's a swatch o...
Quasimodo
The sweet rot o the bramble buss, Scratched entanglement o firs, Places o half licht,Are jungles o concealment. Shaddaes, lang i the sun, Cannibalised, amang a wab o jylers.A wounded boar, riven...
Touch
Fingerens dreepit in rain, clay, dubs,(Yon primal mellin o yird an watter)It's jeelin, creatin a feelinIn mouldable dust ... mair eloquent, vital, potent Nor an air-bubble burst o wird ...Foo...
Instinct
The umbilical cord's nae cut, Bit,Nuzzlin, guzzlin, sookinPure, warm, soothin pleisurThe new-born kens the richt road Natural as breathin.A grippit pencil Fittit.Seemed my fingers war Fashioned...
Air Raid Shelter
At the siren's wail,At the first sign o trouble,Ah dinnae rin for an air raid shelter.Ah'm nae an ostrich, Nae sand here,Could ye nae jist pictir an ostrich,Wi' a dubby heid?At the siren's wail,At...
Buts an Bens
Louis Aragon died on Christmas Eve, 1982, aged 85.“Buts an Bens” is a resetting in Scots of his poem, “Les Chambres” (1969) Aa the rooms o ma lifeWull hae thrappled me wi their waas.Yonder, the...
The Open Yett
For the members o the Scots Language SocietyThere's a yett that aye bides open, There's a gean that's iver green, There's a gledsome cup that's brimmin, Tho aathing else be teem;There's a far, far...
Doric
For Robbie ShepherdSaft, Suddron spik, that iles the converse O a fremmit lanWill ay be the rib o Cain Tae the stinch, roch wirds Quarried frae centuries, we ain. Smeddum's a wird'll tholeThin...
Secunt Birth
Weel-faird as a fresco bi Raphael, “Madonna and Son” A bonnielike basket, bucklet thegither,A buckie, sookin the pap o the boun'less sea Man-babe, an its mither. She wis his meal an ale, His...
Nancy Whisky
Tears staun thistle-jobby, in his een. Ae dunt wad shak them doon, A mill-lade, brakken;The dam-rush efter the drooth. Dinna deny the chiel his feelins! They're a hunner per cent proof! Vauntie's...
Ma Dearie
Gien her aathin.Best years o ma life. Cooker, fridge, TV. Indoor lavvy.Niver bashed her aince, In siller or skint.Fit mair cud a wummin wint?Doon the boozer, Ah'm Action manWi a ring-pull can....
Delinquent's Sang
I am o Clootie's kin,I am the rib o Cain.I gaed tae ma mither fur breid, Fur breid, an she gied me a stane.I am the scud and the skelp,The heid bang, the snot on the face.I am the slash. I'm the...
Bride
Seed, brierin, growth. Syne comes the hairst.The corn afore the scythe's a bride,A rowan blossom, in a man's lapelShakkin the bough, he pu's the flooer itsel.Toasts teemed, an blessins said,...
Canute
Auld age an dalliance are ill begun. Nae teuchit I, bit teuchsome coq au vinGin ye wid grip a tiger bi the tail Mak sure it disna turn an ett ye hale."Gae back, gae back" quo I, wi thrawness...
Tak Tent
Tak tent!Houghmagandie's addictive ...The stoon, o a stob, The tidal sook, o a Fingal's cave, agog. Lichtnin, forkin a cloud, Horn, beeriet in bog,Pestle, thuddit in mortar,A noose, thrapplin a...
Hauns
Turn the peat Mask the teaDicht the greetFrae a bairnie's ee.Kepp the kyeShear the sheep Sell an buySow an reapHack the coalFae the pit heid waa.Lay the straeIn the stirkie's staaPreen an darn...
Side-Show
Shelts pirouette their peintit timer hooves Like widden-dreams, in weel-accustomed grooves. A circlin dwaum o skyrie speed they furl, Wud deevilicks, weird dervishes, they birl, Reid agin derk …...
The Seasons' Soiree
Spring wis a wallfloor — she sat in a neuk, Ower young fur the ithers tae heed A skin like a peach — wi the antrin plook, A book, naebody winted tae read.Simmer wis plottin, fair pechin wi swat...
Bird's Eye View
For the Buchan Heritage SocietyGin ye pit knowledge in a tree, Ye'd fairly fire the thicket! Fit shelter wad a willow gie, Familiarised wi' cricket? Wi' a degree in forestry, The wid wad stump the...
As Ithers See Us
Peat-broon, a wing-beat Drappin alang avenues o air Lichtsome as thistle-web,A pulse o dauchled pouer,The eagle commandeers wir awed attention.(His eyrie, sticks an banes Ower-strewn wi chittered...
The Unca Guid
There wis a calvinistic cat Sat snod, in sabbath braws He dainty dined on spurgies Bit coored awa frae craws. A veritable paragon,His clooks wis lang an sure At powkin fallen carrion, The godless...
Sit Siccars
Sit siccars hae a spik — a place fur aathin, aathin in its place. A puir ootluik, o sma gumption.Nae fur me the tyke that coors frae its ain gurl.Raither, the bikk that tackles the hurly burlO...
Eve
Bird o Paradise,Spirk o Original sin,An efterthocht. A rib o the yird Rowed up in a cutty claith, A wanton, a limmer,The hurly-gush o the river's Nae fur ye.Strae-dallie, a peach, a leech, Ye're...
Nicht Visitor
Weird as a warlock's curse, the nicht Maister, may I gyang hame? Ah, bit the reeds they grip me ticht. Cauld is the watter's wame! It's I wad keep a lover's tryst Far mist an lochan mellI pledge...
Nicht Drivin
The hierarchy o metal, far newest is best, A grandiose Gran-Prix stooshie O winner-taks-aa,His ayewis, a deid-en Honda, A black Avenger.A Jaguar purrs at a Lotus Elite Bummin, replete wi the heidy...
Coal
Fossils o muckle beasts That gart trees styter, That walked the warldIn a sypin sweel o plyter,Their scrauchin, like their girth, Gargantuan, Lie obsolete, in the ribs O a lang-lummed, yirdy...
The Hoast
A kittlie hoast can be a sair dement,As if ye'd chokkit on a kirn o thistles. The win gaes rochlin roon aboot yer chestFor a the ward like a kist o whussles.Ah, this damnt climate can be coorse...
Christmas Blues
Chap the tatties, bree the neeps, Gie the broth a steer,Dicht the bairnie's faces,Christmas denner's here!Clootie dumplin in the pan,Hotterin up an doon,Fairy lichts gyang “Plunk” again! Haun the...
The Heiress
A hoose is a byre, gin the mistress be roch Wi mainners an habits tae scunner a tink, Far etiquette's wintin — a table's a troch Bit nae wi Jean Foubister — she wis perjink.She'd the cream o...
Lang-Legged Tam
A hudderie-heidit, tattie-bogle tyke Wis lang-legged, whusslin Tam,The bik aye bowfin at his back,Herdin his black-faced yowesAn the muckle ram.Drivin his hung-tee tractor(He caa'd it a hotterin...
Laik-Waik Lament
For my father.A worn, ferfochan eagle,Dinged, ooto the lift,His neive, a fierce clook, clawin, Hungersome, fur the derkMoo, steek't, een, snibbit. Cauld's A midnicht tarn,Strang, in contempt fur...
For George Bruce
Curly the wave, that's gray wi the grue o storm, Eastlin the win, frae the mirlygo, blae Nor' Sea, O'erswack the faem, Fauvist in virr, in form Rattlin fou wi the touzlet ocean's bree!Gleg is the...
Jean; Buchan Ward, Cornhill
A doo, plunked in a dooket, Jean cud beOny young mither, hashin the bairns tae schule Bletherin on-gauns ower a cup o teaAboot her Joe or Harry, Dauvit, Frank or Sam, Until her bonnie mou (framed...
Haud Gaun
“A monk once went to Gensha, and wanted to learn where the entrance to the path of truth was. Gensha asked him, 'Do you hear the murmuring of the brook?' 'Yes, I hearit,' answered the monk. 'There...
Ninety
for Dr Danny Gordon, Bennachie BaillieRoon the rigs o Bennachie They caa a spaad a spaad Silk purses may be fancifu Soo's lugs dinna blaadTen year aff the century Ither blossoms faaDanny stauns as...
Overheard at the Synod
for the late Rev James Wood "Yon's Jeems awa. At echty-twaTwa-fauld in darg an deed.""Didna ye ken the Herd o MenIs blate tae cull the guid?""Jeems keepit braw the stirkie's staa A chiel baith...
Bydand
Raised wi a kiss an a shillin“The cock o the north's” their craw Mony's the loun fae a North East toun Jyned them, tae fecht an faaFor a better warld at YpresFar the bluid-reid poppy's blaw.The...
Last Rites
A dowie day, o win an derkA day as cauldrife as the meenI glisked a yowie, fite an sterkThat hoodie craws gaed flap abeen Dinged doon bi Fate, yon deuk o Daith The antrin peck ay drummed her side...
The Dog o the Midden
"The dog o the midden, he lay, he lay The dog o the midden, he lay he layHe luikit abeen him, an saw the meen shinin He cockt his tail an away away" Bairn rhyme collected by Charles Middleton,...
Mister McCafferty
The McCafferty's en' hoose fairly hums Wi a pit bull terrier barin its gums Mister McCafferty signs on the brooThen it's intae the pub tae get ram-stam-fu Knee-heich tae a chunty on bowdy legs He...
Donna
Donna Buchan ... it 's disco time Clart the lipstick onno yer moo Skyte deod'rant up yer oxtersBig Jock's gaun. Will he ask ye hame? Coort ye roon the back o the chippy? Kinnel yer caunle intae a...
Kelpie
Wechtless in wafter I gallop A witch o a watter meerMa mane 's a-birl in the wave I paint the spray wi a door Ma flank is hinney-smooth Licht-fit's a deerI soom frae the salmon's caveTae the...
Nicht in the Biggin bi the Burn
Tu Fu (713-770) Gloamin sypes doon the Ben Tae the biggin ayont the dyke.Bi heich cavesThe licht clouds strikk their camp.The meen rowes ower i the wavesIn the quate at the dowp o a flicht o...
Gloamin
Fur Chang Chi an Chou K'uangHan Yu ( 768-824)The gloarnin dwines, the view teems:Hame frae a traivle, I sprauchle aneth the eavesLichtsome clouds are tooshts o ooAn the meen's a sherpened scythe.A...
The Poem
Frae ben the derk wellheid o waes The wirds like watter rainFur mony's the mither's bonnie bairn Is born wi rowth o painFrae derk tae licht soar siller thochts Like peesies wingin freeTill sudden,...
Mairtimas
The trees hae tyned their clootsNippicks o leaves, like tapsalteerie fire Turn reeftaps, cassies, burn, brae an byre Bluid-reid-organdie, aawye colour-ableeze A swatch o wud Matisse ower lum an...
Christmas Grotto
St Nicholas Kirkyaird. Hiv ye nae heard? Santa's hereSlap in the hairt o the toun, he's yarkitHis gifties doon across frae WooliesFar's his reindeer parkit?St Nick, or Santie (Frien o bairns an...
Doric-Reggae-Spider-Rap
Zippin up an doon a stringA yo-yo daein the Heilan flingPit-mirk's ane o Dracula's dothersLegs in as the airtsLike an octopus's oxters Aa drapt stitchesYon's her wyvinEtts mochs n' midgies Wippit...
Single Parent
I am the boatie, tiller, captain, crew I navigate a roch, uncharted tide Bi galaxies wi starnies far an fyew Sherp-teethed razor-reefs on ilkie sideStreeked like a tent agin Sirocco's cloor A neuk...
Moose
Yawns like a crocodile Flechs like a tyke Etts like a duchess Wi a ficher an a fyke Weirs a model's bearskin Up till her snootDraps like an airman Wioot a parachute Intil a sugarbowl Suppin up the...
Evil
There is a shadda hauds tae ilkie shapeMen caa it Evil. Like an orra stainIts reets rin deep an wideIll-will, Ill-natur, skaith, aa o its bitter blooms The fear that chitters in the eildritch...
The Clunie Burn
Sweet reiver o the Simmer's gowdFa ryped the pheasant's broons & braws Her dimplin watters spirk & showd Like weety wauchts o wattergaws.The fite Scots roses crest her broo Her amber bluid's a...
Dother
Sure o her reestShe glimmers. A precious ferlie, Preened in her faither's breist.
Reeds
Drumsticks, pammerin the deid mairch o war Reeds dird a laich lamentOn Winter's haar.
Waves
A slocken smile, scaled frae a burnie's mou Waves rowe the crib o SimmerSaft as oo.
The Hen's Fareweel tae the Midden
Tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck-TUCKY Scrat-scrat-scrattin in the styewWi ma sherp wee cleuksFur howin in the neuksI'm wytin in the kailyaird queue Fur seeds o bar-bar-BARLEYTae powk-powk-gobble-gobble-powk...
Yalla
Yalla's a playschule sun on a bairn's pictur A budgie's poop o a colourSkrie's a fried eggA meenister wadna gie it a secant luikIt's the margarine clort we butter on public laavies Ye see it,...
Raggie Maggie
Raggie Maggie doon oor street's Got twa gley-een & pirn-taed feetGot sheen that wallop wide as flippers Tide-merks broon as toastit kippersHer shanks are thin as drinkin straas Her shins are...
Dole Q Blues
“First richt. Upstairs. Alang the corridor Collect yer ticketWyte yer turn. Staun in line.Fa ca'ad this Stalag 99?An the baa-heid duntin the bucket,I dinna inten tae 'fuck it' as ye suggest. If ye...
Gerbils
Een like preens Spurgies' beensTails as shargeret as tinned sardinesLowp lowp wallop gae the gerbil gangUp 'n' doon, up 'n' doonAa day lang.
Charlie Chatts
Charlie Chatts, he milkit the cats And Gollachy made the cheese And Wee Willy Fite-BrikksFleggit Awa the bees.*The three o them bedd in a thummel Wi a pirn fur an automobileAn if ye believe fit...
Autumn Nichtfaa
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) On a wizzened tree-airm, A craw sattles.Autumn nichtfaa.
Pairtin
BusonMe, gyangin Ye, bidin.Twa Autumns.
Heat-Haze
ShikiA simmer burn.Wioot a brigMa cuddy wauks throw watter
The Warld Tapsalteerie
OnitsuraA troot lowps heichAneth, in watter,Clouds sweem laich.
Kob Antelope
Resetting in Scots, from a translation from the Yoruba.A craitur tae pet, tae connachLike a bairn.Smeeth-coatit,Waukin cannie ben the yalla girseRoon an sonsieLike a new-wad wifeThe thrapple,...
Forth Rail Brig Centenary Poem
A hunner year … a hunner yearThe brig's ootflang its girdered girthA hunner year … a hunner yearGlimmerin strang abune the FirthHeich an sweir … heich an sweir Founs i the watter … heid i the...
The Queen o Bon Accord
Glint an glimmer, breenge an birl See the siller leddie furlSilken queen, sliddrin slawFar the briney billows blawGranite grey wir spires ariseBirn o muckle enterpriseThis, the toun that shares...
Omens
Frae Ceit Macinnes, cotter, Arisaig Weel tae the fore o a Monday foreneen, I lippent tae a lammie's loweAn the bairn-like scraich o a snipeFin dowdy dowped-doon, booed; An the blae, blae, gowk An...
Sun
Frae a bodach o 99 yrs, in the Sooth en o Sooth Uist The ee o the Michty God The ee o the God o glory The ee o the King o Hosts The ee o the King o the leevin Poorin ower's, at ilkie time an...
Alaneness
Rattens, rabbits, crawsMaun ay rin thrang thegither Biggit wi'in their makk's A need tae be a boorichBreets o the mellin breed.I dinna bide ower near tae ithers' brods Am sweir,...
The Stane
A stane stauns siccar in storm, Is Samson-strang in hail.Sud oor Scots leid o suddenty blossom gendersThis daud o Creation By Certes, wad be male.Maister Stane, I likeYer kirk-pew-plain physog Yer...
The Halflin's Joe
His hairt's an aipple ony Eve micht pu Gin I cud wyle fur him a quineI'd pyke him ain fa's kisses brimmed the mou Lang, swete, an slokin as the pearly dyew.Her spik wad be a madrigal o SpringShe'd...
Nicht
Lang clouds, like mort-claiths, blaik the lan Taed-blichtit nicht's as grim as daith Tongue-tackt as ony gowk, I staun Pitched forrit intae fear o skaith. A bony-shankit, crackit, birkThat...
Corrichie
A widden giant, aixed, striddled the knowe Its muckle airms ootflang, reets riven oot Bi yestreen’s storm.Its heid, laigh i’ the stoor, smored amang girse Coddlit wi thrissle, seggs, an wummlin...
Hogmanay
A fite bleeze birls aroon the meen Blin drift, on lowrin seasWino an wabster toast an teem A twal-month tae the lees.The warld may heist a gledsome glaissTae hish the New Year hameBit oorie oorie...
Rabbit
Fur an flesh since cleekit on yon hullA hinneypot, that predators pyked clean Shines blae’s a nyaakit egg, the shriven skull Dwines sterkly ben the jobby uplan girse. Obscene. Twa boss, teem,...
The Scottish Antisyzygy
Neivie neivie nick nackFit tongue’ll YE tak?Schule-Sassenach, or back-yaird Scots, Deep-reeted as the thrussle?Pit plainer … Heid or hairt?The forkit tongue o Scotia’s lion(Cleft frae the crib, wi...
Autumn
Blae, blae, blae, is the dwinin simmerFin craws are a squallich o midnicht i the liftThe win that knells the aik is an eildritch drummer Garrin the fleggit leaves uptail an shiftWylin the wing...
The Toun in Merch
Van Gogh, an honest Brueghel, peinterly Catched the wye the darg o howkin in the yird Makks dubs o fowk amang the peasantry Roch neive an lirkit broo’s,Anely reward frae the styewO dingin wealth...
Still Life
“Dinna deave a mither hamster,Sooklin her young” ma bairnie’s pet buik said. Bit Teenie, warm’s a bosieCuddly-cosie, Bambi-broonSae roly-poly teddy-beary saft as eiderdoon We trysted, frae her...
Ballad
Rock-a-by-lily the watter is deepBinorie, binorie, ah, fain wad I sleepRing-ring-a-rosies, the corn weirs a crounThe reaper strides forrit … an aa tummles doon.I glimsked in the cradle — a viper...
Hauns
Swack’s a puddock’s lowp, a bairn’s haun needs nae needle Tae threid it a chyne o violetsSnippin in twa a boorich o primadonnasSnod hi a raw.A bairn’s neive, is a butterflee wi a biteIt’ll swype...
Rugged Rascal
Roon an roon the rugged rucks The rugged rascal ran *The hoodie craw let oot a caw Syne daunced a hoolichanHe wadna bide wi bawdrons Nor puddock, sharny-green He lowpit ower the lang rigs An...
Dentist
Open wide. Fit a view!Waur nor luikin doon a bugs’ H.Q. This set o teeths’ like extinct volcanoes Aa the hues o a palettefu o rainbows Chocolate, aniseed, peppermint, bananas Mair dirt there than...
Cooper & Hay
Cannie AiberdonianObleeged tae gyang tae law Oxter deep in taiglesPlagued bi ithers’ jawEager tae unraivelRoups, deeds, wills anaHie ye tae the mids o tounAa screeds o hoose an haYe’ll convey tae...
Tail end of a Tale
While Tam o' Shanter sits bousing at the nappy and getting fou and unco happy, Kate his sulky sullen dame is gathering her brows like gathering storm, nursing her wrath to keep it warm. An insight...
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Scots Language in Scotland's Census 2011 | Shetland and Orcadian Scots dialect | Caithness Scots dialect | North East Doric Scots dialect | East central Scots dialects | Angus and Tayside Scots Dialect | Galloway Scots Dialect | West Central Scots Dialect | Borders Scots Dialect | Ulster Scots Dialect | Scotch language | Scots leid | Scottish Language | Ulster Scots Dialect |