David Elder

Though currently residing south of the border I previously lived in Stonehaven and regularly visit family and friends in the NE of Scotland. Many of my poems have been published in Scottish interest journals and anthologies. My poetry is strongly influenced and inspired by nature and the natural environment.

Poems

• Dunnottar
• Sandscapes
• The Shell Housie
• War Memorial

 

DUNNOTTAR Out of hours and out of season I come to visit your castle walls And marvel at the mound All pudding-stone – with lichened ochre Pushing out to sea Like a lonely heart Seeking friendship, Maybe more. Not the tourists, nor the troops Of Cromwell's day Could win your hand, And possess your jewel Only the constant wails of wheeling gulls And the ebb and flow of the cold North Sea Have captured you at all. Return to top

 

SANDSCAPES A sorbet of sand Served Slightly chilled Twice a day With each helping Of the tide, Then baked In the St. Cyrus sun For two hours Twenty four Celsius, And finally Whisked By the prevailing Wind Into a soufflé Of meringue Peaks That stretch on For ever. Return to top

 

THE SHELL HOUSIE Telling tales from the sea-bed, A thousand and one shells Carefully cultured and collected, Crafted like a Roman mosaic Into a Temple of Neptune, A catalogue of awe And loveliness To while away the dullest day. The shell housie Sits on the forest floor, Silent and modest, Hiding its beauty Beneath the naked moss Of its green encrusted roof, Only revealing its treasure trove To those who seek To gaze inside. Return to top

 

WAR MEMORIAL On the Black Mount Bare in winter Ablaze with gorse And daffodil In the resurrection Of spring A crown of rocks Remembers Never forgets The names Of men One by one Challenged by death From Jutland to the Somme Gallipoli to Marne Burma, Dunkirk The North Atlantic El Al-Amen, Their roll-call Trilled by skylarks Humming a thousand tunes Invisible In the sky Above. Return to top