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Poetry

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St John's Kirk

St John's Kirk, Perth.
Photograph courtesy of Dr W.H. Findlay, Perth.

John Knox

John Knox he learn'd the Latin,
The Hebrew and the Greek:
But aften frae the poopit
His mither-tongue he'd speak.
In bane he was sma'-boukit,
But had a muckle beard
And when he gar'd it waggle
Baith man and beast were feard.
He brocht back frae the galleys
The snellness o' the sea:
Its saut was in his sermons,
Its glitter in his e'e.

John Knox in destination
Warsl'd wi' kirk and state;
And the souchin o' his spirit
Blaws about Scotland yet.

Glossary

poopit - pulpit; bane - bone; sma'-boukit - small-bodied; muckle - big; gar'd - made;
feared - afraid; snellness - coldness; saut - salt; warsl'd - wrestled; kirk - church;
souchin - sighing; blaws - blows.

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