Scots Poem September 2004

The Reid Hawk

I clicked this morn the day-daw’s darling, the chief o daylicht’s
chiel, a glisk-glintin reid-hawk at his ridin
O the streekit oot ablow him pirlin lift, and stridin
High there, hoo he pou’d oan the rein o a welterin wing
Sheer upliftit! Then skited aff, aff wi a swurl
As a skate’s blade skliffs roon a bou-bend: the whurl
an the swushin 
Dinged doon the wund’s gurl. My hert in its hidey
Rang for the burdie, the grip an the gree o the thing!

Fine beast, aa fushen an graith, och, lift, pride sheen-feddert, here
Rax! AND the lowe that braks frae ye noo’s twal thoosan
Times bonnier, mair uncanny, my braw chevalier!

Nae wunner: sair schauchlin gars the ploo sklent doon
The rigs, an ash-grey awmers, och my dear,
Fa, claw theirsels, an whang reid-gowd aa roon.

         Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Windhover
            Translated by James McGonigal

Anent the poet

James McGonigal wis born in the county o Dumfries in 1947, an has steyed there an in Glasgow, workin as a schoolmaister, an noo in the university. Wi ither poets, he has co-editit a fair nummer o collections o Scottish writin (New Writing Scotland, Scottish Religious Poetry, and Across the Water: 'Irishness' in Modern Scottish Writing), an his ain poems in English, Scots an (in translation) Irish Gaelic hae been published here an there ower the years.

He was gien a Scottish Arts Council writer's bursary in 2000. Driven Home (Mariscat Press, 1999) and Passage/An Pasaiste (Mariscat Press, 2004) are his maist recent buiks. The secont o these was winner o the Deric Bolton Lang Poem prize.

About the poet

James McGonigal was born in Dumfriesshire in 1947, and has lived and taught there and in Glasgow. He has co-edited several anthologies of Scottish Writing (New Writing Scotland, Scottish Religious Poetry, and Across the Water: ‘Irishness’ in Modern Scottish Writing) and his own poetry in English, Scots and (in translation) Irish Gaelic has been quite widely published. He was awarded a Scottish Arts Council writer's bursary in 2000. Collections include Driven Home (Mariscat Press, 1999) and Passage/An Pasaiste (Mariscat Press, 2004). This last poem was awarded the Deric Bolton Long Poem prize.

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