I mind the time, when I was very wee,
A chain-pulled ferry stretched across the kyles,
Medallion-like upon our neck of sea.
The loch-side road meandered many miles
To Kinlochleven – rock and machair grass,
And rain, and heather ‘neath the mountain ridge –
A track so narrow, two cars could not pass.
But then one day they built for us a bridge.
My errant grandson came for lunch today –
He drove from Glasgow city in his car,
Brought wife and kiddies with him all that way
And back again, now distance is no bar.
I mind the time we waited for a bus –
A wooden shelter shared with highland midge
That pestered till the driver stopped for us –
Such were the days before they built a bridge!
Upon the bus’s flank it said “MacBrayne”;
Along the gravelled track it toiled and groaned
To Oban, where we had to board a train,
Snail-slowly, and a southward pilgrim loaned.
These new-built bridges, leaping lochs and braes,
Would seem to span from mountain range to range;
What bridge is there from age to younger days?
There’s none – there’s just the one-way loan of change.
Author notes
I may be cheating a little, as the Ballachulish bridge is not exactly my nearest, but it is one I have passed by many times, and is near where I stayed on many a childhood and later vacation. I have managed to scrounge from somewhere a picture of the girders going up for the bridge, with the old ferry in the middle distance.
Readers may need a little glossary to navigate the Scots terms in the poem:
Mind – recall.
Kyles – an aglicisation of the Gaelic word “Caolas”, meaning the narrows of a sea-loch or inlet. The word is also there in the last part of the village name “Ballachulish”, and gives some idea of the actual pronunciation, which is half way between “kyles” and “coolish”.
Machair – a type of grass which grows by sea-lochs in Scotland.
Midge – our smallest airborne predator. In the days remembered in the poem, only cigarette smoke would keep it at bay!
MacBrayne – Once common in the Highlands were buses with the slogan “MacBraynes for the Highlands” on the side. The company lingers on only in the Government-owned “Caledonian MacBrayne”, which runs ferries to the Isles.
Loaned – the word “loan” is Scots for a lane. There is an obscure dialect usage as a verb, meaning “to wander the lanes”.
Braes – “braigh” is Gaelic for a slope or bank, and the word has passed into Scots as “brae”.
Loan – see above.
Written June 19th, 2006
In a list
A contest entry
- Bridge by ea.
300 points, ended June 21, 2006, 10 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 27 of 27
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Aye! Ah see why this took gold lass! 'tis wonderful I love it.
Love,
Amera ♥
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Hi Choirangel - glad you liked this one.
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so pretty and well done. very creative,unique, and interesting.. thanks for sharing this piece, keep up the awesome poetry here!!!
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Thanks Rob. Glad you liked it.
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Just wonderful! I appreciated the glossary. On my second reading the scenery and natural history came alive with image.
Gongrats on a well-deserved award.
Peace, Rob -
I'm glad you called in too. Thanks for your appreciation.
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Excellent
I am glad I called in to congratulate you. The gold trophy is well-deserved. The imagery is flavoured not only with the beauty of the area but with gaelic, cultural overtones; a bridge to a time that knew no bridges. This poem had to be a formal one with each line very special:
"Medallion-like upon our neck of sea." This is simply one of such memorable lines that form this beautiful poem.
Lyndon
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Thank you Wanda. I hope to spend my winning points on organising a contest of my own.
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This is a beautiful penning, rife with incredible imagery, smooth & pure flow that holds great depths...Your efforts reach out to the reader with a sense of imparting Memory...This is an impressive effort on your part...well done...Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with us...Congratulations on winning the gold trophy; it is quite deserved...Be well, Poet... Wanda
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I am glad you appreciated it, grannyeri. Thanks for dropping by.
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This is an educational lesson as well as an entertaining read. Liked the Scottish flair that makes this poem so very wonderful and personal.
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Bazza you can poke fun at whatever you want to. But I had a feeling you would like this one - I feel it is probably the closest in spirit to one of yours of any poem I have ever written. (Point of information - porridge was a Viking introduction, and bagpipes were common from Turkey to Galicia)
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Brilliant
Mairi, I may poke fun at the erotic stuff but as you make it public I believe that it is Ok to treat it this way as a fun thing and without persecution, but I love better the feelings and emotion that you weave throughout the brilliant pictures that you paint above for they are as Scottis as porridge and bagpipes. After reading the Scots terms for the words I find it even more compelling and will read this many times to revitalise the tiny pieces of Scotland that seem to have accumulated within me. In this case the photo has reinforced the poem by adding some hard fact to the images you painyed. I love the atmosphere and poignant feelings that are evoked within me in these types of poems. -
Michael, I am so glad you found this one. I had a feeling it would appeal to you.
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Wonderful, wistful and sad, beautifully done!
Edited on Jun 20, 7:52 p.m. because 'spelling'. -
You are very welcome, ea. As soon as I knew the theme of the contest (I hadn't even looked at the details), this poem started to bubble in my mind. I knew what I wanted to say, and how I wanted to say it. I worked on it during a couple of coffee breaks at work, and copied it down when I got home. There are simply times when I love the creation-process, and this was one.
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really wonderful and what I had hoped this contest might produce. I am thrilled with this entry; I am of Scottish ancestry and always love to hear and learn anything about it. I have a good friend who is from this same area you are and I will email this to him, which I'm sure he will enjoy. Thank you so much!
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Och, Unca G, what can I say? this is only a little glimpse. I am glad you enjoyed it.
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Mairi, the beauty of Scotland is legendary, and now I feel as if I have actually set foot there! Such splendor you have given to us by your words can never be exceeded by experience. Lazarus told me that you were a wordsmith without compare and now I can truly believe! Thank you so much for allowing us a brief journey to your land.
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Thank you Tangle. I lap up your praise, as you know.
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poth27 - many thanks.
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Dear Mairi,
I come to your poetry with a mind ready to be filled, and your richness of knowledge does fill me.
A beautifully metered poem rich with culture and lore, enchanting and historical.
The best to you in the contest!
Your barm-pot,
Tangle
(thanks
)
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This is a beautiful poem. I especially like the picture. Bridges do come in handy when one is needed. Keep up the awesome poetry!!!
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No it's the same planet all right. I don't know what I see, I don't know what I hear, Poe, but I just write it down. I am glad I can communicate.
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For a long time now I've come to believe we don't live on the
same planet..for your world is so, more interesting than mine..
you live someplace where imagination holds over reality... where
something as fundamental as a simple bridge...bridges the gap
between ordinary and extraordinary... there's so many applauses
in this I run the risk of wrist injury... lapoe...
Edited on Jun 19, 2:29 p.m. because ''. -
Thank you, Ruler of the Pixie Hoard
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Before time shall end
and light fails descend
our last remembered morn
sees what eyes mourn.
Love it Smoosh
Janet
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