Smeaton's Bridge over the Tay, Perth.
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Read and listen to selected poems
The Auld Man
| As I gaed owre the Brig o' Perth Ablow the hunch o' the hill, The müne gou'd doun on the doverin toun; And I heard the water sweel. |
Oot o' the mirk a body cam And brocht me to a stand: A muckle pack was abüne his boo'd back And a rammock in his hand. |
| Nurly he was like an auld aik; And the glister on his e'en Was glinterin bricht as the müne's cauld licht And sichtless as the müne. |
"What hae ye there, my auld carl? What ferlie or what fair'n?" "O! a' that I hae is lichter nor strae And wechtier nor airn." |
| "And what is wechtier nor airn And lichter nor the strae?" "The hairst o' the fleur, the hairst o' the stour And the hairst o' memory." |
Glossary
| ablow - below; | gou'd - stared; | doverin - slumbering; | sweel - eddy; | mirk - dark; |
| muckle - big; | abüne - on top; | boo'd - bowed; | rammock - stick; | nurly - gnarled; |
| aik - oak; | glister - glitter; | glinterin - twinkling; | carl - churl; | ferlie - wonder; |
| fair'n - gift; | nor - than; | strae - straw; | wechtier - weightier; | airn - iron; |
| hairst - harvest; | fleur - flower; | stour - dust. |
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