WILLIAM Soutar (1898-1943), the Perth poet, confined to bed by ill-health for much of his adult life, offers some wise if rather stark observations on life. The poem is included in Into A Room, his Selected Poems, edited by Carl MacDougall and Douglas Gifford (Argyll, £7.99).
HE WHO WEEPS FOR BEAUTY GONE
He who weeps for beauty gone
Hangs about his neck a stone.
He who mourns for this lost youth
Daily digs a grave for truth.
He who prays for happy hours
Tramples upon earthy flowers.
He who asks an oath from love
Doth thereby his folly prove.
Mourn not overmuch, nor stress
After love or happiness.
He who weeps for beauty gone
Stoops to pluck a flower of stone.
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