Thistle and steel

The heather weeps, a purple bruise, Across the glens, the chilling news. No bagpipes drone a mournful sound, But sirens wail on hallowed ground. A thistle bleeds, its prickling crown, As innocence is stricken down. Young eyes, once bright with Highland fire, Now gleam with something dark and dire. The steel they flash, a twisted boast, A stolen childhood, dearly lost. Each shadowed lane, a whispered fear, Of blades that gleam and futures near, Consumed by rage, a hollow pride, Where youthful dreams have gone to hide. Parents clutch, with hearts ablaze, Afraid to loose in this iron maze. The ancient stones, they stand and stare, At broken vows and whispered prayer. Can Scotland rise, her spirit mend, And teach these children how to bend, The steel to craft, the hands to heal, And learn the wounds are truly real? To trade the blade for open hand, And reclaim peace within the land.