when the hour is still

Was up in Perth this morning, and this hasty (hazy) snap was taken, from the train, as we approached the town ...

... reminded me of the well-known William Soutar poem:


Yon Toun

Hae ye come in be yon toun
Ablow the craigie knowes?
Hae ye come in be yon toun
Whaur the clear water rows?

Birk and rodden on the brae,
Hawthorn in the hauch;
And clear water churlin by
The elder and the sauch

At day−daw and at grey−fa’
The merry bells ding doun:
At day−daw and grey−fa’
There’s music in yon toun

Merlie and mavie whistle clear;
And when the hour is still
Haikers owre the auld brig hear
The gowk upon the hill.

Wha wudna bide in yon toun
Ablow the craigie knowes?
Wha wudna bide in yon toun
Whaur the clear water rows?

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William Soutar (1898 –1943)

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