Jock Scot captures a memorable moment at sunset in Edinburgh.
His poem comes from the anthology Untitled One, edited by Kevin Williamson and Michael Pedersen (Polygon/ Neu Reekie! Publishing, 2015).
ABOVE THE VOLCANO
We climbed to the top of Arthur’s Seat
And looked down on the castle
Through the haar you could see Inchkeith
And in the city, the glint of granite
Was caught in the setting sun
At that moment when we two were one
Standing there together
With the whole town spread before us
The sun set over Glasgow way – and, yes!
The colours they were glorious.
-
Then the lights came on
And street by street
A transformation transformed
Leith Walk, George Street, Easter Road
With Clermiston beyond.
-
I was trying to explain to you how I felt
I was going on and on
But you weren’t even listening –
You were humming a Bob Dylan song.
-
We were slipping on the shallow earth
Where the rock broke through;
The rock was breaking through
The shallow earth.
You slipped, and I caught you, and you laughed,
Just then.
As I prayed that the moment would never end.
The end
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