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The first tyme I saw her face...my
heart stopped...
It may have missed a beat, or two, or
three, but something surely happened to me...
I do not know if I can say I fell in love
then, but being young and full of life, it may very well have been that
most wonderful of sensations known to man.
I was taken quite aback on that first
encounter. My gaze, elsewhere, roaming without purpose, met her eyes,
saw her parted lips in such a sweet, yet mocking smile as I will never
again encounter. I never had the pleasure of first introduction. I never
did learn her name. I knew naught from where she came, but, it is from
that not knowing of her, that this fantasy of mine seeded and
blossomed.
I blundered into the room not knowing why
or what I was doing in this strange place, when suddenly, there she
was... In a striking pose, the Edwardian dress a-billowing about her
form she captured my heart....
She appeared as a stranger.. and I no
less the stranger..
She never did see me.. She never did know
of my presence.....for that smile, and those eyes, were for someone
else....
And so I concluded that I would go on and
deal with the vagaries of life that fate had in store for me...
But the more I thought on the vision of her, the more my heart raced to
know of her, for I was caught....snared...in the hot headiness of
love....
And so I thought about where she came
from, who she was and what was the story behind that smile . I wanted to
lose myself in the mystery of her eyes... I wanted to be a part of her
very life.
.........................................................................................................
By my reckoning, she must hae been born aboot ten year afore the new
century...Och.. when blood is strong and loons are able and lasses
are willing , and the hot love is upon them, then all caution is thrown
to the wynds...It's there 'mangst fields o' harvests, that ither fields
are ploughed, and the sowing is nae sic a chore, but mair o' a
pleasure...
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Corn rigs, an' barley rigs,
An' corn rigs are bonie;
I'll ne'er forget that happy nicht,
Amang the rigs wi' Annie...
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Oh the wondrous Springtyme o' life....The men in hard labour as they
brak the hard crust o' natures sheild...the planting effort for future
simmer crops ....and steamy breaths frae snorting shires ..pulling
the ploo'....The team..man and beast t'gither in the age auld
harmony....The smell o' sacred Mither Earth.. as she gives ....her
fertility...frae the sowing.... tae the joy of birth and succour...And
the fields o' yonder land, loved and cherished by those that dwelt in
the bounty of it's harvest..
And it was there lang syne, in the sweet lovemaking of it, that my
heroine was thus conceived, t'ween a lad and his first lass in the field
o' the maister's farm.....
How dear the thocht...O' the lass born tae the Angus land...
I see a rosy faced tyke, rinnin' in laughter and daft glakit loons
pursuing the prize o' a kiss frae her bonnie sweet lips.....
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Her lips, more than the cherries bright,
A richer dye has graced them ;
They charm th' admiring gazer's sight,
And sweetly tempt to taste them;
Her smile is as the evening mild,
When feather'd pairs are courting,
And little lambkins wanton wild,
In playful bands disporting²......
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And Spring gied way tae the hotness o' Simmer's heady breath......
And the breath was hot in the kissin'
twixt the hardness o' the coortin'chiel and the saftness o' the farm
yaird lass...And the barn owl gave hoot tae the cry o' pleasure
somewhere in the black moist nicht.....
And she did gae dancin' on these pleasant simmer nichts....and the reels
and strathspeys and the laughter and birlin' by strang lads o' that
strang land....
The fiddling and pipe playing and sangs
frae bothy lads and tears for ither tymes and lang ballads tae fire the
minds imaginings.....
The auld bent lads wi' mousers broon
wi' the smoking o' clay pipes and grannies sookin'plooms soor, tae
mak their cheeks pucker wi' the tartness o' them......
And the walkin' hame, after a' the dancing was ower, those maist
majickal of nichts...when a' aroon' was dark and unknown and kisses were
given eagerly, or stolen in the giddiness o' youth. And a' that was
beautiful was here and the people reveled in the joy of living.....
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And the Autumn....
Whar did the tyme gang ?...
I see her loving a strang quiet lad....Tall he would have been. Fresh
and open and honest and as strong as the land he toiled upon. Able to
chase and catch and win the heart o' my country lass......They would gie
tae each ither their love troths..Sworn in the shadow of the Ancient
standing stones, under the glow of the harvest moon....the sacred grove
of the auld anes wad serve as kirk tae the couplings and promises o' the
lovers.
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The night was still, and o'er the hill
The moon shone on the castle wa';
The mavis sang, while dew drops hang
Around her on the castle wa';
Sae merrily they danced the ring
Frae e'enin' till the cock did craw;
And aye the o'erword o' the spring
Was ŒIrvine's bairns are bonie a'.....
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Then did the red of Autumn fade,
Tae gie way tae Winter's grey..and my maid yet not a married dam'..
The strang lads' pleadings wad no' shift her resolve....
T'was the new century and a' was for the getting....My lass had sichts
far beyond the fields o' hame...
But ither fates wad play their worldly part.
And on a mad day, in a land, wha's name wad be unpronounceable tae the
country lass, a single shot frae the pistol o' a daft lad wad call the
dogs o' war tae heel.
And senceless killing would prevail.
And the Warpipes sounded...and the young men cam tae the toons seeking
the offers o' the recruiting Sergeants...
Now in the toons o' Angus the parent Regiment was the 42nd, but by the
zealous endeavours of a Mearns tongue, wad the lad be signed up by the
92nd..ŒGordons'.....
And the strang lad, now in the Highland garb o' the sojer, once mair
asked for the hand o' the lass......But, she could gie nae
positive answer tae the swain who loo'ed her dearly......
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I am my mammy's ae bairn,
Wi' unco folk I weary, sir,
And lying in a man's bed,
I'm fley'd it mak me eerie, sir.
Hallowmass is come and gane,
The nights are lang in winter, sir,
And you an' I in ae bed,--
In trowth, I dare na venture, sir.
Fu' loud an' shrill the frosty wind
Blaws thro' the leafless timmer, sir;
But if ye come this gate again,
I'll aulder be gin simmer, sir.
I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young,
I'm o'er young to marry yet;
I'm o'er young, Œtwad be a sin
To tak me frae my mammy yet.
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So, cam the spring o' that next year.....The Highland lads marched in
grand formations awa tae the war........And mony the tears were shed at
their going.....
But news was slow in returning tae the Angus glens...The fate o'
the lads was no' kent, and life lost most of the pleasure that was aye
taken for granted....
Traveling folk were often the source of news. They would tell o' battles
fought in the far off France. Letters would be sent tae the men in the
ŒFront'....accompanied by photographs o' loved ones...And the lang War
raged on...And now, news o' casualties filtered back to the simple folk
of the Angus land...........
News of..Mons...Ypres..The Somme.......
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John Delaney of the Rifles has been shot.
A man we never knew,
Does it cloud the day for you
That he lies among the dead
Moving, hearing, heeding not ?
No history will hold his humble name.
No sculptured stone will tell
The traveler where he fell;
That he lies among the dead
Is the measure of his fame.
When our troops return victorious shall we care
That deaf to all the cheers,
Lacking tribute of our tears,
He is lying with the dead.
Stark and silent, God knows where ?
John Delaney of the Rifles----Who was he ?
A name seen on a list
All unknown and all unmissed.
What to us that he is dead ?--
Yet he died for you and me......
______
The Roll Call o' the Dead............
As that awful war went on,the country lass new no joy... The lad o' the
fields...o' him there was no news. His Regiment were , as always, in
the van....It was no' for nothing that the Highland regiments had the
reputation so envied by fellow warriors....
But news gradually filtered through...in dribs and drabs, the full
horror of what was happening became apparent to the folk wha waited for
word o' their loved ones....
And mony the mither collapsing in screaming sobs at the news o' a son
lost, to the abomination of that war.......
And faithers, stunned , but haudin' their grief until oot o' sicht and
earshot o' the wummenfolk. In the fields they wad greet their sair tears
for strong sons wha had warked alang side them, wi' the heavy horses at
the plooin', in the springtyme of the year......
And so the daily ritual began.........
The Litany of The Lost souls....
______
You strange old ghouls,
Who gloat with dulled old eyes,
Over those lists
Those dreadful lists,
To see what name
Of friend, relation,
However distant,
May be appended
To your private Roll of Honour.
Unknowingly you draw, it seems,
From their young bodies,
Dead young bodies.
Fresh life,
New value,
Now that yours are ebbing.
You strange old ghouls,
Who gloat with dulled old eyes,
Over those lists
Those dreadful lists,
Of young dead men......
What happened tae my country lass ?.........
Never will I ken...If her lad returned tae the farm ?....
Did he woo her and win her and wed her and did he live to adore those
eyes and that smile....for the look and that smile were not for
me.......
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On a summer evening when the breeze blew gently o'er the fields of
ripening crops, a young man cycled his way along the old country
road...His route had taken him through the old market toun of Forfar,
and he now looked for the familiar direction of home...But , he
now found himself on a stretch of road which he was not familiar with.
..But in the distance he could view the Sidlaws, so he was
content to let his mind wander and his legs would do the rest......
On a fork in the road however, he came in
sight of the old cottage...
It was set back from the road a bit, and
was surrounded by what appeared to be a rambling and thorny rose hedge.
But he could see that the cottage was derelict, for some windows were
bereft of any glass, and their dark sockets stared out at him as he
passed..
Being of a curious nature he drew on the
brakes and pulled to a standstill... He was a away beyond the
cottage now and was not sure whether to go investigate the place or move
on...The evening was nearing the gloaming tyme and the light was
fading.....But he could not resist the chance of a nosy... So off the
bike got he and leaving it at the old broken gateway, he walked toward
the door of the cottage....It was slightly ajar...He could smell the
mustiness and oldness of the place before he entered...But he pushed the
door gently inward , and it offered no resistance to his invasion. It
had obviously been lying in this state of decay for sometyme. He stepped
into the lobby and on into what was the front room. Nothing but scraps
of old newspapers and other rubbish lay on the floor. Into the back
kitchen now, and he was confronted by a superb example of an old cottage
range. Ashes from some long dead cooking fire were still in the
grate..He could sense the living that had once gone on in this humble
country cottage. A narrow stairway led into the upper floor. With the
light almost non existent on this stair, he was unsure whether to
proceed any further. But the old nose for knowledge spurred him upwards.
At the top of the stairs, the room to the left was bulging with all
manner of old furniture and bedding. The door to the room to the right
was closed. Gingerly turning the doorknob he pushed an entry. Something
at the back of the door unabled it to swing wide, but he saw light
coming into the room from a tiny window, and he managed to squeeze his
slight frame through the space and into.......
A small attic bedroom.
The light barely allowed him proper
vision and the smell was musty and damp in this place and he felt a
small discomfort at being here. He had the feeling that he was invading
a space that was still private, even though the occupants had long ago
departed...
He turned to leave and his foot kicked
something lying on the floor. A pile of old photographs he could see,
were scattered all over. One he had kicked had landed under the small
window and lay face down. His heart by now, was thumping somewhat
loudly, and he chided himself for his foolish nervousness. He looked
down at the photograph, bent to pick it from the floor, and turned it to
look at whoever might be portrayed there...................
That was the first tyme...... I saw her face....
That perfect face.....
Those eyes and ...that smile......
No Mona Lisa could ever compare with her.....
Graham
Poems.....Robert Burns...
Casualty......Winifred. M. Letts...
The Ghouls.....Helen Hamilton...
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