This poem was inspired by scots poems and is about inspiration that can be found in nature. I saw a visitor's book from Corrour Bothy from the 1930s which was the catalyst of inspiration for this poem.
Some translations for non-scots understanding readers:
Bothy - small remote shelter for hillwalkers
Braw - if something is braw it is good
Bonnie - pretty
Baltic - freezing
Dreich - dull
Drookit - drenches
Burn - small river
......
Bring the wine, a symphony in a glass,
Where time stands still, moments to amass,
Ripening grapes, their destined purpose in mass,
A taste of eternity, a love that will last.
I defy the taxman's relentless plea,
My dignity's price, I'll pay with glee,
You can't strip me of my autonomy,
For my treasure is mine, and I'm carefree.
......
It was at a wine party—
I lay in a drowse, knowing it not.
The blown flowers fell and filled my lap.
When I arose, still drunken,
The birds had all gone to their nests,
And there remained but few of my comrades.
I went along the river—alone in the moonlight.
TRANSLATED BY SHIGEYOSHI OBATA
As you descend, slowly, falling faster past
you this snow,
ghostly, some flakes bio-
luminescent (you plunge,
and this lit snow doesn't land
at your feet but keeps falling below
you): single-cell-plant chains, shreds
of zooplankton's mucus food traps,
fish fecal pellets, radioactive fallouts,
sand grains, pollen....And inside
......
Although you have given me a stomach upset,
Weak knees, a lurching heart, a fuzzy brain,
A high-pitched laugh, a monumental phone bill,
A feeling of unworthiness, sharp pain
When you are somewhere else, a guilty conscience,
A longing, and a dread of what’s in store,
A pulse rate for the Guinness Book of Records -
Life now is better than it was before.
Although you have given me a raging temper,
......
This poem was inspired by scots poems and is about inspiration that can be found in nature. I saw a visitor's book from Corrour Bothy from the 1930s which was the catalyst of inspiration for this poem.
Some translations for non-scots understanding readers:
Bothy - small remote shelter for hillwalkers
Braw - if something is braw it is good
Bonnie - pretty
Baltic - freezing
Dreich - dull
Drookit - drenches
Burn - small river
......
I am a disaster,
Wallowing in self pity.
Delusions strong,
Paranoia in overdrive,
I am stalemate.
Stagnant.
Watching life pass
And I cannot move.
No dreams nor nightmares,
Lite hurts.
......
I can see
What you cannot
Oh how I wish
To be
Without the onslaught,
For sometimes
I feel sick
Overwhelmed
Mind racing, intruding thoughts
Are these my own?
......
The overwhelming feeling of panic and regret
before my eyes fell forever,
was the worst pain imaginable.
You couldn’t see it then
but there was happiness in the shadows
and love on its way to you.
The world was sending you laughter and smiles,
you had so much life to live.
......
As I lay in the darkness
Wide awake
Trapped in my thinking
As I feel unwanted
Selfish thinking I know
Desiring the embrace
Though what I lack
The pain it brings
......