11 Scots Poems From Flat Out Poem by Sheena Blackhall

1.Nature Abhors a Vacuum (Aristotle)
In the wyme's chaumer
Velvet drapes wyte tae be swypit aside
Eftir the ficher o fore-play
Tae swacken the hinges

Flaps grup at the incamin body
Like a sea-flooer grups the satty maet that feeds it

The chaumer trimmles eftir the incamer depairts
Syne steeks its yetts
Fair foonert wi the eftirstang o pleisur


2.War: Inspired by the painting ‘War' by Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Flicht an exile. Twinty years eftir Warld war II
This pictur tuik twa years tae execute
A hallyrackit, bumshayvelt cairt,
Wechtit doon wi fowk
Flees frae a birsslin toun

Ahin the cairt, a cheil hyters on shank's mere
A stappit pyoke ower his shooders
Aa he ains in life.

In derkness, tae the richt
Jesus hings on the cross, takkin nae tent.

A muckle fite lammie breenges ooto the grun
The sacrifice tae Peace
Or is't a goat bein fed tae the lowe?
Puir Jewish scapegoat risin in rikk tae Heiven.


3.Thanatos: inspired by the painting Night Hawk by Edward Hopper
We aa ken at least ae body fa wauks alane
An ootlinn, giein the hee-haw tae the warld
Turnin their face tae the waa.

Ane sclimmt a Ben in Winter,
Dooned a bottle o fusky, tapped up wi peels
Syne fell asleep foraye in the blin smore

Anither blew his heid aff wi a gun,
A fine-like sottar for inthers tae redd up eftir

Haun on hairt,
Hae ye niver thocht like thon
Crossin a brig, or heich on a cliff tap
Tae step frae noo tae niver in ae wheech?

Gin ye hinna, ye maun be a lucky cheil.

4.The Beetle in the Box
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5.The Flat Earth Society
Is the Eird a baa?
Weel, sudn't we faa
Fin it birls ben the lift like peerie?

Sudn't kangaroos bluid
Rin aa tae their heid
Fin Australia hings tapsalteerie?

I think it's a discus, an ashet, a frisbee
This kenspeckle plook o a planet
In a thoosan years mair
Science will, I am shair
Pruve the Eird is as flat as a bannock


6.The Souling Song
Chorus (repeat after each verse) :
A soul, a soul, a soul cake,
Please, gweed wumman, a soul cake,
An aipple, a pear, a ploom or a gean,
Ony gweed thing this Halloween.
Ane for Peter, twa for Paul,
Three for Him that vrocht us aa.
God bless the maister o this hoose an the mistress as weel
An aa the teenie bairnies that roon yer table reel,
Likewise your lads an lassies, your kye an aa tae spare
An aa that bides inbye yer yetts,
We wish ye ten times mair.
The lanes are unca clarty an ma sheen are unca thin,
I've got a wee pooch I can pit a penny in.
Gin ye hinna got a penny, a ha' penny will dae,
Gin ye hinna got a ha' penny, syne God bless ye.

7. The Aborted
Noo at the turnin o the Deid Thraa o the year
Open yer yetts tae midnicht, the fyauch o Daith
Dae ye hear the pammer o wee tint feet
Yarked frae the wyme afore they first drew braith?

Wee ghaists, the nameless anes
Shilpit an quaet, that niver larned tae spikk
The unborn wheech alang teem streets like rikk
Green leaves, plucked doon in Spring
Millions o micht hae bins like snuffed oot caunle wikk
Their anely merker in Yule's cauld on-ding

The clocks o Time tick on
An they can anely watch blythe quines an men
Live oot the lives that wir denied tae them.


8.The Widda Baxter's Wae-Sang
Fit means the future tae me?
I hae tint the luv o ma life
He held oor merriege dear
Twis a pleisur tae be his wife

Sangs?
He'd a lintie's knack
O wheeplin douce an bonnie
Cryin me back

I gaed tae a public concert
O Bartok, Chopin, Bach
In the taxi leavin eftir
Thon's far I missed his lauch

I gaed on a tour o Egypt
Hame o the tribbled Nile
Bi the stoor o Thoth an Isis
Thon's far I missed his smile

Syne I kent at last, he'd left me
Like the shards frae brukken glaiss
I wyle oot the myndin's splinters
The loss that hurts the maist

9.Yalla Yeities
Inspired by a wildlife photo by Catriona Low

Yalla yeitie, bricht as breem
Harbinger o Simmer days
Like a fleein skirk o sun
Wheeplin, wheeplin ower the braes
Yeitie wi the yalla croon
Dingin waefu thochties doon

10.The Butterflee Effect
Fur wint o a nail the shee wis tint.
Fur wint o a shee the shelt wis tint.
Fur wint o a shelt the rider wis tint.
Fur wint o a rider the battle wi tint.
Fur wint o a battle the kingdom wis tint.
An aa fur the wint o a horseshee nail. (traditional)

11.Flood
Last nicht I saw the ragin Dee
Cam roarin brack neck doon in flood
Like a broon shelt that's bukken free
An kicks an rears unbridled, wud
Cars, hames an larries tossed aboot
Brukken like kinnlers in the faem
It crummlit roads tae smithereens
Like a spyled bairn, tired o a game
It buckled brigs, as if tae say
Hae ye the pouer tae dae the same?
Aneth the meen, the Dee'd begot
A fearsome michty juggernaut