A bracing tale for those with broken hearts! Helen B Cruickshank shows her tart wit in this homily about the impermanence of emotion. It comes from her Collected Poems (Reprographia, 1971).
THE WISHIN’ WELL
A lass cam’ sabbin’
Tae my brink,
Tae dip her hand
An’ wishin’, drink.
“O, water, water,
Gi’e tae me
This wish I wish,
Or else I dee!”
Back cam’ the lass
Years efter-hand,
An’ peered again
At my dancin’ sand.
“I mind,” she said
“O’ drinkin’ here,
But – Losh keep me,
What did I speir?”
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