Duncan Glen - Thinking of Hugh MacDiarmid

Fire-flaucht

There is a sadness in the rustle of the trees
in this anglicised Edinburgh. But see there
oot o the settin sun
into these daurk and humdrum days

slots a sleekit ferlie,
ilka makar haein his ain laugh.
There, and here, a language,
fire-flaucht, handsel agin drivin wunds.

The sicht transmorgified thistle
silhouettit
atap lang lang curve
o mornin's clear blue horizon

The clypie voices jabberin
jabberin, jabbering agin themsels,
stilled to quait
- at least for a shairp intak o braith.

Oot this double windae mony northern lichts to be seen.
Bein faur owre the measurt horizon they canna be pit oot
- at least until the Tuesday efter next's week's eternity...

See oot there an epic whigmaleerie walks doon the street,
and a gallimaufry o soond at its tail.
Till
the haill warld's aclaitter wi the joy o bein

heels
owre
heid

Glossary

• fire-flaucht, a flash of lightning
• stots, bounces
• sleekit ferlie, sly manifestration, wonder
• ilka makar, every poet
• handsel, a gift for luck, a good omen
• clypie, tell-tale
• jabberin, chattering
• quait, quiet
• windae, window
• faur owre, far over
• whigmaleerie, fantastic ornament without monetary value
• gallimaufry, heterogeneous mixture or medley

About Duncan Glen

Professor Duncan Glen was a poet, literary editor and academic who has published a number of poetry collections under his Akros imprint, which grew out of the Akros magazine he once edited. Akros has also published a number of histories of Glen's home town, Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire. Our selected poem comes from his 2006 collection, Collected Poems, 1965-2005.