I think of you ...

Was given this relatively new collection of Alexander McCall Smith poetry (published in July 2023) just yesterday ...

... thought the title-poem was appropriate for today:


I THINK OF YOU

I think of you, as sometimes we think
Of those who, fortunately,
Do not diminish with time,
Whose clarity is undimmed,
Who never merge with the crowd
In the confusion of the daily play
In which  we all are actors.

I think of you at odd moments
When my thoughts should be elsewhere,
When some task makes technical demands
And concentration is required;
I think of you in spite of that.

I think of you on Scottish moors
Where the hills recede into indeterminate blue
And mountains with fond local names
Stand guard over secrets long forgotten,
And the sky changes in an instant,
Bringing sun, or rain; I think of you then.

I think of you when I hear the news
Of things happening elsewhere,
And the voice of the announcer is grave
Because somewhere there is suffering
As the world pursues its accustomed cruelties;
I think of you, and how your kindness
Is the opposite of all that.

---

Alexander McCall Smith (1948 - )

---