by Ron Butlin
Scottish Independence As Seen From Above Edinburgh Castle
Standing an inch or two above Edinburgh Castle
I touch the sky for luck
(well, who wouldn’t?)
and come away with history
smeared on my fingers.
Seems like Scottish history.
Hmm …, tastes like it, too!
With nowhere else to go, is this
where Scotland’s past has ended up –
leaving us stranded in mid-air?
The wind’s much stronger here, forever
blowing us a few days forwards,
a few days back.
Days, months, years …
One unexpected gust –
and we’ve been carried deep
into a Scottish Ice Age.
Our country’s frozen into place
beneath us, preserved
in a centuries-thick glacier.
What now?
Should we wait until a tell-tale crack
opens at our feet, as if by magic?
Should we enjoy ourselves, get scarfed
and bunnetted to go sliding
Wheeeeeeee …
into the future?
One thing’s for certain –
thanks to global warming we’re sure to fall
back down to earth … and soon.
We’ll have time to spread our wings?
To cross our fingers before
we hit the ground?
Prayer
When I reach the centre of the earth
let there be someone with me.
Each of us must bear the world’s weight,
but not alone.
So when I return at last to this same hour
and this same place,
let there be someone raising even
the emptiness in their hands
towards me.
Note on the type
The Magicians of Scotland is set in
mvb Verdigris – a typeface designed
by Mark van Bronkhorst. It is a
Garalde text family for the digital
age and is inspired by work of
16th-century punchcutters Robert
Granjon, Hendrik van den Keere
and Pierre Haultin.