Best Lochs Poems
I love your heathered highlands,
steep cliffs and rugged islands,
hedges and gardens under
rainclouds of grey.
Old steeples rise above
those small rural towns I love;
your hillsides of sunny yellow,
rolled bales of hay.
Pipers will play their part
stirring each Scottish heart
binding together a nation
drenched with pride.
"Scotland the Brave" is ringing,
dancers are highland flinging -
proud Scottish hearts are singing,
joy wells inside.
O, highland games of yore
with racers and tug-of-war,
the cabers are tossed asunder
by mighty men.
I love your farmlands rustic,
mountains and lochs majestic,
as kilts of many tartans
hike through the glen.
Pipers will play their part
stirring each Scottish heart
binding together a nation
drenched with pride.
"Scotland the Brave" is ringing,
dancers are highland flinging -
proud Scottish hearts are singing,
joy wells inside.
Castles with ancient hist'ry,
Celt runes of ancient myst'ry,
we sing an "Auld Lang Syne"
and toast Robbie Burns.
Clans clad in plaid will whistle
fondly of Lion and Thistle,
dressing with tartan kilts
their wee bonnie bairns.
Hands high, your dancers dance -
crossed swords, I'm in a trance,
pipes heard for miles
with that old familiar blare.
St. Andrews' cross - the flag is
don't ask what's in the haggis!
Just eat your shortbread
and be glad you were there.
//These reflect some of my favorite memories from the 6 months I lived in Scotland, in 1990. I miss her dearly and hope I may be able to return some day. These words may be sung to "Scotland the Brave", a beloved anthem of Scottish national pride. You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzK2PWVQYX0
The tempo of this recording is much faster than I prefer, but I include it here in case you have never had a chance to hear this wonderful patriotic song. //
Written 24 Mar 2021
My mind to arms to hands to oars to lake
I cleave the sunrise glass-like surface, still
With just my lonely friend, a mallard drake
Thus set adrift, my thoughts, upon the wake
So buoyed by the breath of morning's chill ...
Oh, how I long to know the somber deep
To let my weary soul sink with the bream
But I have many vows that I must keep
My web-toed friend and I have loves to reap
And many lochs to row before we dream ...
Yes, many lochs to row ... before we dream.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Standard Contest Number 135 Any Form Or None" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "Rhyme Time II" Poetry Contest, Laura Loo, Sponsor.
A CASTLE OF TEMPTATION
Proudly standing amidst three lochs, verdant hills
a Castle enciente breathing beauty but sadly chants
passed feuds sparking battles having harried their foe
and it's demise caused by Frigates cannonball screams.
Colonel MacRae-Gilstrap rebuilds now redeemed:
stoned arch bridge supersede the sea highway flow,
circular stairs and ceilings with coat of arms grants
changes made but its history today remains still
Tourists not deterred by ghost tales scary extreme
But await they exercise for imaginations to show
the setting, a romantic reincarnation that enchants
attracted lovers to celebrate their matrimonial thrill
Eilean Donan Castle in its stunning reachable location
pose the Western Highlands of Scotland a temptation.
Written by: Olive Eloisa Guillermo and James Andrew Fraser
8:46 pm; August 18, 2015
The Highlands, our Kingdom, our many Lochs and Glens
Our beauty woos fair maidens to be at the side of Highland men
Their futures to be part of our history, Queens to our many Clans
As we stand and salute the Saltire, by the side of their Highlander man
Such a Princess exists, in a far away land from the Scot's
To our shores we'll grace her beauty, once seen, forget me not
Onclaud, by the name Nette, shall stand by her Alba man
Upon a Ben she'll stand so proud, admiring the lands of her married Clan
She'll walk through purple heathers, thickened by natures sun
Amidst ferns and ancient bracken's by burns so crisp in run
By her side he stands this man, kilted displaying his kin
Claymore at the ready to grace his enemies skin
His Queen, their Kingdom, their Castle, resting on the shores of the River Ness
Overlooking forests and greens, salmon runs in richness finesse
When the night befalls these lands, in the Kingdom of the Lochs and Glens
It's understandable as to why they be wooed, by these historic Highlander men
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/scotland-6.php
In an unreal pre-dawn half-light
I gazed with much surprise
Across the darkly flowing Rhine
With newly-wakened eyes.
The vista on the river bank
Was as within a dream.
A vision wonderful, surreal,
Exquisite it did seem.
These were not mountains, lochs and glens,
Or misty forest scenes,
These were as nothing Nature formed,
No waterfalls or streams
Or castles in the sky.
So what amazing sight was this,
So slowly passing by?
This was concrete, steel and glass,
Fired in imagination.
Modern art, space-age design,
The ultimate Man's creation.
Soaring, swooping, sleekly blending
Each shapely angle with its neighbour.
Whose vision brought these things to pass ?
What divine and perfect labour ?
In awe I watched the passing scene
And then, a moment's retrospection,
This splendid affluence had been
Forged in devastation,
As from a hostile sky
Came terror and destruction.
Seven hundred tons of bombs
Rained down in just one fiery night,
The city was ablaze, and come the dawn,
Still smouldering, a sorry sight.
Gaunt remnants, stark, skeletal, charred,
The fruits of war, forever scarred,
But from the ashes, undeterred,
Came inspiration to rebuild
And heal the all but fatal wound.
Faith in the future was instilled
And esoteric dreams fulfilled.
A phoenix rising, quite sublime,
In Dusseldorf, on the River Rhine.
Entered for contest "Foreign Travel"
It's one of the plus's of living in Scotland
if you are over the 60 plus age band
travel is free from John O'Groats to Dumfries
giving one the opportunity having a free hand
In a land like Scotland full of great scenery
rugged mountainside and lochs so deep
surrounded by oceans east and west
the Atlantic and the North Sea are a mighty leap
So, my favourite trips are to Inverness and Perth
also love Dunfermline, Andrew Carnegie's town
Edinburgh the capital with its wonderful castle
many lovely places in the borders to be found
Being brought up in the county of Ayrshire
I love to go back and walk Irvine's beach
also back to Kilmarnock bring the memories back
there my home town kept me on the right track
So the buses with its many numbers
taking us over 60s far and near
deckers single and double all for free
blessed trips always forever in top gear
Not the wisping grasp against the parchment
That licking click of writer as he tpyes
The cold inanimates touch of skin on screen
Memories only shorter I eye aye the Scottish yes
Scrapes and scrawls on cave dwelt walls
Truncated truck trimmed in intricate trestles
Who was the first message in a bottle for
Bobbles of sheerest ink like Scottish lochs
as.morning mists turn solid for a movement
I enjoy being wrong
Keeping pictures of the dead to the soon to be
Words the unleashed an atom
Words that end wars
illlusions putting fuses to the con
My muse has left
So I better be …….gon
Oh kelpie with your dripping mane
seducing valiant men of heart,
who by your spell would all be swain
and every sense in them, depart.
Why weep you by the loch and tide?
What brought you from your kelpie depth?
Sure no desire is kept aside
from your cold, illusory breath.
No longer do you haunt the bank,
but mourn a clever witch of wile
from whose enchanted cup you drank,
now captive to her charm and guile.
She'll bid you work a hundred years
in slavery chains for nigh
'til kelpie legend disappears
for proper penance, hue and cry.
*In Scottish folklore, a kelpie is a malevolent water spirit in the form of a horse.
Kelpies were believed to inhabit lochs and rivers, and to lure men to their watery graves
by transforming into beautiful women, once drowned the kelpie would then eat the victim.
The kelpie of this poem was the victim of a love enchantment, eagerly agreeing to a
lovesick life of slavery for penance of past misdeeds. Ha, whoever heard of a repentant, lovesick kelpie?
< this poem is not about what is written, but what is not written
like the smile upon her face that looks nil and somewhat smitten
and lochs of hair hanging instead of with bows and lace
tell me my angelic angel have you fallen from God's good grace
has your garments of thread gone out of time
has your dance with the butterflies gotten out of rhyme
have you been cast from your lovers heart
or are you just looking to start over with brand new start
has clouds silver lining rained upon your dreams
has leafs dance gone frozen in crystal streams
time stands still amidst wondering thoughts
time stands still when lovers cant be sought
Written By Katherine Stella 7/4/11
Entry For A Rambling Poet's
The Unwritten Contest
G.L. All
A CASTLE OF TEMPTATION - collab with JA Fraser
A CASTLE OF TEMPTATION
Proudly standing amidst three lochs, verdant hills
a Castle enciente breathing beauty but sadly chants
passed feuds sparking battles having harried their foe
and it's demise caused by Frigates cannonball screams.
Colonel MacRae-Gilstrap rebuilds now redeemed:
stoned arch bridge supersede the sea highway flow,
circular stairs and ceilings with coat of arms grants
changes made but its history today remains still
Tourists not deterred by ghost tales scary extreme
But await they exercise for imaginations to show
the setting, a romantic reincarnation that enchants
attracted lovers to celebrate their matrimonial thrill
Eilean Donan Castle in its stunning reachable location
pose the Western Highlands of Scotland a temptation.
Written by: Olive Eloisa Guillermo and James Andrew Fraser
8:46 pm; August 18, 2015
As the wind rolls cold of the mountain plain
As the Hindu Kush rises like skyscrapers to Gods name
But these are not my mountains and the wind is not the same
So as my plane takes off im glad im headed hame
Back to the lowlands of the South and the Highlands of the North
Those crystal clear burns lochs and mountain streams
Back to the braes and the bens and the fresh mountain snow
Back to where the thistle and the heather grow
So who is proud to be Scottish? well that would be me
And what does Alba need? She needs to be free
So people rise up against centuries of tyranny
As a unified people chant were free
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, the place of many friends,
Have you ever seen the Lochs, or the heather in the glen.
D’ya know of her martyrs, their price to make a stand,
Ever trod the soil, of blood mixed in the land.
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, and the glory of Loch Ness
You’ll understand the pride, in their tartan crests.
It’s highlands that are stunning, nothing like them that’s for sure,
Their rugged beauty speaks, “come and search for more”.
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, the castles they call grand,
Seen the views they give, from Highlands to the sand.
Their rooms of kings & queens, show history bad and good,
Victory and defeat, a land misunderstood.
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, & listen to her speak,
That accent so engaging, “oh aye” I hear you speak.
This place of engineers, and reformers too,
A place so unique, a place that sees things through.
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, her hospitality,
Haggis; nips ‘n’ taties, and people so friendly.
Will be like a magnet, they’ll not leave you in the black,
For you will be drawn, when they say “haste ye back”.
Have you ever been to Scotland ?, the place of many friends,
Have you ever seen the Lochs, or the heather in the glen.
Do you know of her martyrs, their price to make a stand,
Go & tread the soil, where blood’s mixed with the land.
I haven’t sailed her rocky shores,
peered through her misty veils,
but clansman blood runs thru my veins.
Fore-fathers climbed her trails.
I long to see highlands and meadows,
the lochs and the glens and more,
to seek fabled Loch Ness monster,
part of exciting Scottish lore.
Is there some one resembling me
still living in this distant land?
Does he proudly wear his Scottish kilts
as he marches in bagpipe band?
The poems of renowned Bobby Burns
have appealed to poet in me.
My Scottish roots are calling out
to unravel the mystery.
scotland poem
bonnie scotlands the place to be,
whar awe yae ever may want tae be,
fae glens n lochs and water to
lookin arood scotland whor thars a bonnie view,
whar the lads may wear thar kilts
whar the wumin get thir little thrils
its nae a place fur sun n sand
still wae awe the rain
scotlands a bonnie land,
wee rabbie burns came fae ayr
an his cottage is still stanin there
just alang the road me fae me
just doon by the bonnie sea,
whar aw the sand and water to,
ayr is a place wae a bonnie view,
in scotland we hae loads o fun
even if we dinae hae nae sun,
whar ya go tae cleer ya heed
wae the fresh air that helps ya indeed,
glesga is a fair big old toon
whar all the fun sterts when the sun goes doon
ya hae twa teams left n right
that get tae europe wae a return flight,
we dae hae oil anaw
wish we could buy it and prices dae faw,
so when ya want tae come n see
vist ayr toon an you may see me,
a wull wear ma kilt n coat n hat
n show ya scotland bonnie land,,
Ye ancient land O’ bonnie hue
A bonnie haze on lochs of black
Divide the colour, take me back
To wash my eyes with Fall, imbue
The highlands with a McCulloch hand
Take me back to Autumnland
Softly, softly toes on glens
I trod the braes the peaceful host
The quiescent land of Wallace’s ghost
Once horror valleys shroud in the ben
A witness to yon fallen clans
Take me back to Autumnland
A rugged Skye of misty chill
A blanket cloud a calming bourne
From the mystic sea in gloam and morn
To a hazel lass in tartan twill
Proverbially by the shore she stands
Oh take me back to Autumnland
Oh let me freely stray the moors
Wind the strath of Gaelic roams
Before the low road takes me home
Still and steep in treasured lore
Aye take me back to Autumnland
Take me back to Scotland