The Unknown Bairn Poem by Mervyn Graham

In Tayport's tender embrace,
Where waves hug the rugged shore,
Lies a secret held by time's grace,
A child unnamed, forevermore.

His tiny form, cradled by the sea,
A mystery veiled in salt and sand,
Eyes closed, lips silent, yet pleading,
'Who am I? Where do I stand? '

The wind weeps through the dunes,
Echoing it's lullaby lost in the breeze,
A mother's tears, a father's moans,
Their love entwined, lost in the seas.

Did he laugh, this unknown child?
Chase seagulls with barefoot glee?
Or did he tremble, fearful and wild,
As the North Sea whispered its decree?

Perhaps he dreamed of distant shores,
Of ships with sails unfurled,
Of adventures waiting beyond closed doors,
Yet fate tied him to this forgotten world.

His grave, a silent plea for recognition,
A marker above the shifting sands,
But the stars hold their own disposition,
Their stories told in far-off lands.

And so, we gather our little known shards,
Woven into verses, like seashells found,
Each line a tribute to life's disregard,
A requiem for the boy unbound.

Oh, Unknown Bairn, your name now lost,
Yet your memory dances on the waves,
A lighthouse amidst sorrow's cost,
Guiding us to seek solace in the salted graves.

May the whispers of Tayport's forgotten shore
Echo in the hearts that truly hear,
For in these whispers, we find more,
The essence of life, ever near.

Mervyn Graham (cc 2024)