Beneath terraced mountain peaks,
Where stars reach down like sequestered cousins,
And the land is split by silvern rivers,
The first tentative seed heads of snow
Settle on the sered treeline.
The Mighty Quinn in the Highlands on Maggie's Farm in an Idiot Wind
What He Didn't Say About Being Famous:
"Just Like The Rest, I Like My Sugar Sweet."
When Quinn The Inuit Gets Here,
We're All Gonna Hafta' Eat.
I "Feel Like A Prisoner In A World Of Mystery."
A Pretty Waitress Knows My Name,
But Wouldn't Vote For Me.
"The National Guard Stands Around His Door."
Every Mag-Pie Makes A Living
While Making Me Make More.
"It's A Wonder We Can Even Feed Ourselves."
But My Lucky Wife In Italy
Died For Mental Health!
Like a flying bird they swayed
To the flow of a beating gong
Like two little kids that played
To the sound of a native song
All the others came to dance
Flock of birds; flew high and low
They soared together, all at once
They all let their feelings flow
May 10, 2023
A Scotsman voyaged through the highlands
Thickly covered with lush, purple heather
Kilt adorned and bare, his regions nether
Feeling breezy on this, a grand endeavor
He trekked across enjoying balmy weather
Heather gray sky and ben blend together
Through the loch did wet his boots of leather
The effort causing removal of his sweater
Warm with heather yarns the colours speckle
He laid it on the hillside and rested, however
Off in the purple heather shrub was a new treasure
A lass holding a bouquet of aforementioned heathers
Whether or not she knew, she blushed behind her freckles
And when she saw him, the meeting was a pleasure
Her laugh as soft and light as a floating feather
They grew a love that no one could deem to measure
Happily ever after, and of course, her name was...Gertrude
Watching the ripples of the clear water of the Spey
Setting sun lighting field and trees of the strath
Salmon jumping clear to catch a fly
A sob as water runs from my eye.
Doon tae the firth o moray runs the water
Taking my thochts and dreams far away
Ne,er again tae be born a new
Loast forever in the melee o life
On on fast running Spey taking all hopes and despair
Wi me sleeping and floating in yer watter clear
Oan ma back spotting a hawk hover in azure sky
Lids closing tight oan ma blearie eye.
Music o the water soothing
Scottish Wildcats are listed as, critically endangered
Once found throughout Britain, now only found in northwest Scotland
living in wooded areas, near the edges of forests and shrublands
and the Scottish Wildcat is a subspecies, of the European Wildcat
Domestic cats pose a great threat, for these Scottish Wildcats
as there are very few genetically pure populations left, of this Wildcat
and deforestation has left them confined, to the Scottish Highlands
and snares and traps are have accounted for many of their deaths
Majestic, barren, rock-cropped braes ascend—
Arrayed, green-clad, in heather, gorse, and fern—
As mid-day, misty, dark’ning clouds descend
To cold-embrace each soaring tor and burn.
From heights unseen a torrent cascades free,
Unfettered into deep Ben Nevis’ glen;
Then onwards toward Loch Linnhe and the sea,
Through sodden bog and brackened, stone-strewn fen.
Though hidden from the eyes of those below,
Ben Nevis’ surly brow is sought and found
By those who brave the rain, the sleet, and snow,
To scale the cairn that marks its highest ground.
And there, amidst the cloud, God reaches down
To touch and bless fair Scotland’s Highland crown.
brae=steep hillside
tor=rocky peak
burn=hillside stream
This sonnet is one of a set of five sonnets written while traveling through Ireland and Scotland in June 2019. This sonnet was inspired by my climb to the snowy summit of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles. The poem is included in my book, "Mostly Sonnets," published by Dunecrest Press and available for sale on Amazon.com.
I will lift up my eyes
to the highlands;
the moon and the stars
far beyond;
bathe in wonders
before me-
delight in
holy humility.
The Call of the Highlands
Oh I'd love a day out in the heather,
With a ghillie a gun and a stick,
I'd stalk 'cross the moors, crawl about on all fours
All the way from Fort William to Wick.
Oh I'd love to catch fish in the river,
Cast my line, it's no problem you see,
For the fish that I catch will find they're no match
For a quick-witted lassie like me.
Oh I'd love to go riding on horseback,
'cross the valley the glen and the moor.
I'd gallop all day o're the banks and the brae,
And come back a bit saddle sore.
Oh I think that maybe on reflection,
If it's snowy, or if the wind roars,
That I'll find me a nook, cuddle up with a book,
By a nice cosy fire - indoors!
charcoal clouds
bring curtain of rain -
rainbow arcs mountain
In carpeted show -~-
Purpled heathers radiate -~~-
Picturesque glens bloom -~~~-
Lush green in graceful silence
misty layers let nature dream
through hills where rivers flow
Early morning mist
caught by smoke
through carbonated thached roofs
Oh, write tae me of the highlands,
the crisp air and the damp.
Write tae me of the heather'd fields
'ere Bonnie Charlie danced.
Oh, place yo'r quill upon the page
and dream a fey song wit me,
of rock tor's an' crags an' fiords
which join the raging sea.
Of fair Iona, the Isle of Sky
the Inner Hebrides.
Hike yo'r kilt, strap on the uilleann
and keen a sweet song for me.
Oh, dinnae tarry beyond the pale,
with the wail of the brash banshee.
*Written in dialect in the style of Robert Burns
**Dedicated to our Jamie our own Highlander
The Capercaillie
Most delightful wood grouse
Striding so graceful
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/nature3.php
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.