'Whatsoever things are lovely..think on these things.' Philippians 4, 8
A smoor o paets: a simmer foo
a hent fae timeless broos at,
haddin der dark fire, cuppit
fair Lungawater. I da sun
da paety loch glansed
secret an boddomless.
Jöst oot a reck, a tize
o water-lilies flotit,
luscious an exotic,
intae a Monet.
Da day, i da toon,
du skypit up ta me,
alive ta ivery element;
open on a loch o trust.
Afore I gud, du closed
petal airms aroond me.
A flash o Eden, surely,
or a braeth o Lungawater;
a charm fornenst da grummel
steered up itae dis fragile wirld.
A drizzle of peats: a simmer full
to glean from timeless slopes that,
holding their dark fire, cupped
fair Lungawater. In the sun
the peaty lake sparkled
secret and bottomless.
Just out of reach, a lure
of water-lilies floated,
luscious and exotic,
into a Monet.
In the town today,
you skipped up to me,
alive to every element;
open on a lake of trust.
Before I went, you closed
petal arms around me.
A flash o Eden, surely,
or a breath of Lungawater;
a charm against the muddiness
stirred up within this fragile world.
Christine De Luca, Edinburgh, Scotland
This poem also appears on the Scottish Poetry Library website here.
A lovely poem in Shetlandic, with Christine's own English version. Here is Christine's explanation of the poem: "The incident in the poem happened on the fateful 9/11 and the little girl is suggested in the shape of the poem ....or the not very stable towers I suppose. The references to the water
ReplyDeletelilies refer to the poet Vagaland (pen name) who came from my village, a generation before me. He also had had peats in the same area and wrote a beautiful love poem called 'Water Lilies' based on the Lungawater of my (idyllic) childhood.'
It's beautiful! But it's so frustrating that I find the original version so hard to understand. A year or two ago, I would have remembered more Scottish words.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you included the Shetlandic version. The text is beautiful to look at, even if I don't understand a lot of it. "You skipped up to me, / alive in every element; / open on a lake of trust." Lovely language.
ReplyDeleteHI there and thanks for your comments. Nia, Shetlandic is quite different from lowland Scots, which I suspect you may be more familiar with, so maybe you haven't forgotten as much as you think.....
ReplyDeleteJuliet Wilson said...
ReplyDeleteA lovely poem in Shetlandic, with Christine's own English version. Here is Christine's explanation of the poem: "The incident in the poem happened on the fateful 9/11 and the little girl is suggested in the shape of the poem ....or the not very stable towers I suppose. The references to the water
lilies refer to the poet Vagaland (pen name) who came from my village, a generation before me. He also had had peats in the same area and wrote a beautiful love poem called 'Water Lilies' based on the Lungawater of my (idyllic) childhood.'
Can you say what book did you quoted? The thing is I'm doing a research on Christine De Luca's poems and can't find her comments
Hi Anonymous, I'm quoting from personal correspondence from Christine when she sent me the poem!
ReplyDelete