Ode: On Gullane Beach - A Dream On Returning To Scotland Poem by Paddy Scott Hogg

The red sun's flame was falling far from reach
O'er the horizon of a deep dark sea:
There, a strange dream came to me
As I fell asleep on a warm sandy beach,
Overcome with joy, profound and deep
I heard the Music - a nocturnal tune
Symphonic, symbiotic, while the moon,
On sea, was dancing lights that climbed the deep.

Sky dominant, reflecting on the sand
The moonlit path, as from a world to come -
Shone all harmonious - the moon, a drum.
My blood was salt-sea and flesh, the land.
Islands were there - in tantalizing view;
Such happiness electrified my glee,
And tears, like pearls unto a silver sea,
Rolled on the sand, turning like midnight dew.

Thus, Nature blessed, these forge-fired eyes,
Awoke, to see the new day had begun:
The wings of morning, rising with the sun
And tide, revealed my visitor and my prize:
In a dream Caledonia spoke to say
'Ye are my son, no more shall ye stray'.