02-19-2012, 09:51 PM
Sonnet in praise of camping in Scotland!
Shin yersels' an move yer bods an' ye will no be seetin’
By yersels wi' no guid pal, all forlairn and greetin’.
Gie yersels a wee, wee shove, oot intee the heather.
Dinae fret or mope aboot, dinae curse the weather,
Dinae tarry lang alone, away and find yer tentee;
Ye'll mak yer bed on sweet, lang grass an' sleep away contenteed.
So aye to the air and aye to the glow and aye to the braw gold water
Then ye’ll feel guid aboot yersel as aithers will (or aughta.)
Too mony men are shriven doon an' canae see the gloamin
An' its no for want o' wealth or time or feart', maybe, o'roamin.
For mony men are seated tight and canae feel the urgin’
That stirs the blood and twirls the kilt an' sends the senses surgin’.
Dinae be a mon the like, te have your time full sorrow!
Grab tight the day, and march away........ye may no mak the morrow!
TAK
2009
Notes:
Line 1) “Shin yersels..” was thought to be a widespread Glasgow expression and was much loved by my Glaswegian Uncle George Purdon when I was about eight years old! He used it to stop us bairns runnin’aboot by suggesting that such activity would cause us to bang or graze our shins as in “C’mon noo, stope runnin’aboot, ye’ll shin yersels!!” Equally and diametrically he, when wanting us to get a move on, would shout “ Away noo, shin yersells an move yer bods….”
Line 1) “…..yer bods…”. Again, I always assumed this to be the shortened word for “a body, or person”. This is, I am still reasonably sure, what he meant…..but….it is also the Scottish Gaelic word for penis ( with vulgar connotations)!!!
Line 2) “…..greetin’”. Crying
Line 3) “ wee, wee…” Of course, it means “small” but also a Scottish Presbyterian!!!
Line 7) “….braw gold water”. Whisky.
Line 9) “….gloamin”. That magical time at just gone sun down which is romanticised singularly in Scotland to include the effuse glow in the mist at twilight.
Of course, ye cannae ha' a tight seat!