Scots Poems From Goodbye To A Soul Poem by Sheena Blackhall

The Edible Burnie
Broon sugar curly, its currents
Caramel, hinney its puils
Peach bonnie it slidders ben seggs
Like chocolate an coffee, bricht jewels

It's walnut an ploom at its deepest
It's cinnamon, traicle an wine
It's liquorish, ginger, molasses
Blaikcurrant aneth the meensheen


Jenny Nettles (verse one is from a traditional song)
I met ayont the cairnie
Jenny Nettles, Jenny Nettles
Singin tae a bairnie
Robin Rattle's bastart

I met ayont the burnie,
Twa feetikins, twa feetikins
I met ayont ayont the burnie
Twa feetikins a-dauncin

I met ayont the graveyaird
A lassie howkin, lassie howkin
Mools tae hap a bairnie
Robin Rattle's bastart


On Concorde
On Concorde sook yer stammach in
Sic a snorrel o weers an screens
Wid ye pilot ane o thon?
Can grumphies flee, min? In yer dreams!


Oliver Cromwell (2)
Oliver Cromwell, a Fen loon born
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
Crabbit fechter, a Puritan
Hero tae villain an back again

Oliver Cromwell, warts an aa
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
Cheils o Englan obeyed his caa
Hero tae villain an back again

Focht the Royalists teeth an nail
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
Roonheid, steerin rebellion's gale
Hero tae villain an back again

Cromwell ensured King Charles wad dee
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
Cromwell ‘s cry wis ‘Liberty'
Hero tae villain an back again

A wee mosquito bi Daith wis sent
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
Intae the grave mools Cromwell went
Hero tae villain an back again

His heid lies noo in Cambridge toon
Malaria, cholera, typhus, plague
An a new Prince Charles awytes the croon
Hero tae villain an back again


Hadrian's Death Poem; Goodbye to his Soul
Wee sowel, ye chermin smaa gangrel
Macorpse's guest an fier,
Far are ye aff tae noo?
Somewye tint o colour, nyakkit an wersh;
Niver again tae share anither lauch."


The Sonnets to Orpheus: IV - Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
Ye douce anes, wauk noo an then
Intae the braith that blaws cauldly by,
Upon yer chikks lat it trimmle an pairt;
Ahin ye it'll trimmle thegether again.

O ye blessed anes, ye fa are hale,
Ye fa seem the stert o hairts,
Bows fur the arras an arras' targets-
tear-bricht, yer lips aybydan smile.

Dinna be fearttae suffer; gie back
that wechtiness tae the yird's ain wecht;
wechty are the Bens, wechty the seas.

Even the wee trees ye planted as bairns
hae langsyne becam ower wechty; ye couldnae
cairry them noo. Bit the wins...Bit the airts....



The Sonnets To Orpheus: XXV - Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
Bit ye noo, dear quine, fa I lued like a flooer fas nemme
I didnae ken, ye fa sae early wir taen awa:
I'll aince mair caa up yer makk an shaw it tae them,
bonniefier o the unstoppable cry.
Dauncer fas corp filled wi yer latchy weird,
dauchlin, as tho yer young flesh hid bein vrocht in bronze;
murnin an lippenin. Syne, frae the heich airts,
uneirdly music drapped intae yer cheenged hairt.

Already grippit bi shaddas, wi skaith nearhaun,
yer bluid ran derkly; yet, tho fur a meenit in doot,
it breenged oot intae the natural steerins o spring.

Ower an ower interruptit bi doonfaa an derkness,
eirdly, it glimmered. Till, efter an unca threwshin,
it gaed intae the wae-strukk open yett


The Sonnets To Orpheus: XIX - Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
Tho the warld keeps cheengin its makk
as faist as a cloud, still
fit's bin vrochtfaas hame
tae the Primeval.

Ower the cheenge an the passin,
larger an freer,
heists up yer aybydan sang,
god wi the lyre.

Niver his grief bin taen ower,
niver his luve bin larned,
an fit takks us awa us in daith

isnae revealed.
anely the sang throw the lan
sanctifees an sains.


Traffic Jam Dundee
Hae ye crept ben Dundee like a racin snail
Whilst coontin each brick in the hooses
In a dreich mochie scunnerin haar frae the sea
That could connach yer intimmer's juices?

Oh tae teleport ooto the misery like Spock
Ae flick o yer lugs an awa
Nae sic luck, sae yer stuck, like a grumphie in muck
An the traffic nae meevin, na, na

I ken in Bangkok that the traffic jams there
Takk onythin up tae a year
Tae win ooto the snorrel an see the road clear
Fowk hae deed an gien birth in thon steer

Bit fit is the pynt o a car wi fower wheels
Gin ye canna win ooto the bit?
Come on Desperate Dan, an concoct a gran plan
Tae gar Dundee's road sorras tae shift


Weety Oot
Windaes dreepin, sheughs are sweemin
Dubby yird an clarty buits
Puils in potholes, sypin shelts
Trees are drookit tae the reets

Larries splyterin, reeftaps rattlin
Shooers blooter droonin flooers
Rainclouds teemin. Birdies cooerin
In their bield o leafy booers

Wattergaws an thunnerplumps!
God o Weet turn aff the pumps
Mynd, it couldnae be much waur
Yowes are oxter deep in glaur
Their ganzies in the doonpoor reamin
Watter aff their nebs is streamin
Rain plunks on its zylophone
A plashy, splootery monotone


The Pyoke
Whyles I lowse the pyoke o blyther times
A loon, doonslidin in a Heilan burn
A treisur skinklin in ma harns
A licht that niver dees
Wae, though, bides unbeeriet


Cullerlie
The ram wi the letterbox een
Like a brod that winna cowp
Rug -yarks at the girssy park
Knapdarlochs hing frae his dowp

Sharn an nettles an violets
Orra, nippy an bonnie
A steadin that's raxxin tae wrack
Wi a reef like a cockernonie

The lift is pearlin grey
Like the breast o a reestin doo
Plottin hett is the day
A thunner plump's on the brew

In a park, a hotterin tractor
Dirds ower the rigs o a track
A path like a rickle o banes
Wi a spine o girse fur a back

A shelt wi fower blaik socks
Is skelpin awa the flees
Ti a tail that niver dauchles
Skelpin tae gie her ease

An ower Cullerlie's park
Rears up the Hill o Fare
Far the burn o Corachree
Aince witnessed the fechtin there

An the young queen Mary sat
Saw Huntly faa in the stoor
An his loon, Lord John, fa lued her
Dreed his weird thon fateful oor

The Hill o Fare stauns stinch
In Simmer its braes are sweet
The ghaists o yestreen lie lippenin
Tae the sangs at the widlan's feet


Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell, warts an aa
Gart King Charles's heid tae faa
The heid rowed up, the heid rowed doon
Quo, ‘D'ye think yer wirthy o ma croon'
Oliver Cromwell wisnae braw
A midgie bite wheeched him awa