I tae ha’e heard Eternity drip water
(Aye water, water!), drap by drap
On the a’e nerve, like lichtnin’, I’ve become,
And heard God passin’ wi’ a bobby’s feet
Ootby in the lang coffin o’ the street
—Seen stang by chitterin’ knottit stang loup oot
Uncrushed by th’ echoes o’ the thunderin’ boot,
Till a’ the dizzy lint-white lines o’ torture made
A monstrous thistle in the space aboot me,
A symbol o’ the puzzle o’ man’s soul
—And in my agony been pridefu’ I could still
Tine nae least quiver or twist, watch ilka point
Like a white-het bodkin ripe my inmaist hert,
And aye wi’ clearer pain that brocht nae anodyne,
But rose for ever to a fer crescendo
Like eagles that ootsoar wi’ skinklan’ wings
The thieveless sun they blin’
—And pridefu’ still
That ’yont the sherp wings o’ the eagles fleein’
Aboot the dowless pole o’ Space,
Like leafs aboot a thistle-shank, my bluid
Could still thraw roses up
—And up!

from A Drunk Man Looks at Throbbing Thistle

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