My poem ‘A Lang Wait’ was published recently in Scottish PEN online journal (theme ‘Patience’). Here’s me reading it, in Scots with English subtitles.
Here's the original Scots version:
A Lang Wait
afore fowk – yon's you and me and aa –
arenae gowkit –
– bi thaim as promise jam the morn
(a tax brek, a pun or twae mair pension, oor country's glorious futur)
– bi thaim as gie us an enemy tae turn
oor hate upon
(immigraunts and furriners, Jews, Muslims, aye, and a wee war warks wunners)
– bi breid and circuses
(think Meghan and Harry, onie celeb ye can nem)
– bi thaim as awns the media and gie oot
fake news for thir ain fell purposes
(the heidlines ony day o the week)
– bi thaim as haes maistered and refined
the cantrips o kings, emperors, warlords and high-heid-yins sin the beginnin o
time.
Ye micht wait lang. But keep the faith
for things will chynge for the better –
the lees will be seen throu
and the truth come oot suiner or later.
It's happent afore, it’ll suirly happen again.
It's a lang road – yit wi howp
and mair nor howp – gin ye speik oot
for thaim as cannae speik oot and for thaim
whase vyce is owherwhaulmt
bi the warld’s stramash and scurry-whirry
stour will flee frae the een. Dinnae gie up.
In daurk days aye haud forrit, haud on.
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