Scotland O’ Scotland

After just spending a magical couple of weeks in Scotland, I thought it was time to feature some Scottish poets. The most famous of course is Robert Burns (1759-1796). Robbie gave us Auld Lang Syne. The one below struck a chord during the clearances in the Highlands. The clearances occurred over a century and were in effect a form of economic cleansing. During this time peasant families also known as crofters were forcibly removed by landowners who sought to increase their income. The Highlands are scattered with crofters’ cottages in ruins. There were two main phases: the first from 1750 to around 1815 and then the second from 1820-1850. In around 1820 there was a sharp decline in the kelp industry and the potato blight had a devastating impact - the crofters communities were no longer able to support themselves. The second clearances led to mass emigration to Australia, New Zealand the USA and Canada.

My Heart’s in the Highlands

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,

The birthplace of Valour, the country of Worth;

Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,

The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

My heart’s in the Highlands, my hear is not here;

My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;

A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,

My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow;

Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;

Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;

Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

George Mackay Brown (1921-1996) is a more contemporary Scottish poet and writer. He spent his life on Orkney. The poem below is described as one of the most beautiful Scottish poems of the twentieth century. I have tried to match the poem with some of the photos I took on our recent Orkney odyssey.


I
 Wait a while, small voyager
    On the shore, with seapinks and shells.
 
The boat
    Will take a few summers to build.
    That you must make your voyage in. 

II
 You will learn the names.
 That golden light is ‘sun’ – ‘moon’
    The silver light
 That grows and dwindles.
 
And the beautiful small splinters
    That wet the stones, ‘rain’.

III
 There is a voyage to make,
    A chart to read,
 But not yet, not yet.
    ‘Daisies’ spill from your fingers.
    The night daisies are ‘stars’.
 
IV
 The keel is laid, the strakes
    Will be set, in time.
 A tree is growing
    That will be a tall mast

 All about you, meantime
 The music of humanity,
    The dance of creation:
 Scored on the chart of the voyage. 

 V
 The stories, legends, poems
 Will be woven to make your sail.
 
You may hear the beautiful tale of Magnus
    Who took salt on his lip.
Your good angel
    Will be with you on that shore.
 
VI
 Soon the voyage of EMMA
    To Tir-Nan-Og and beyond.

VII
 Star of the Sea, shine on her voyage.
Danielle Gallegos