Assoc for Scottish LiteratureI hate midsummer in the north.
There’s no night to speak of,
just day in and day in
with maybe a slight hesitancy
about two o’clock in the morning…
—Alasdair Maclean, “I Hate Midsummer in the North”
published in FROM THE WILDERNESS (Gollancz, 1973)
Lying asleep walking
Last night I met my father
Who seemed pleased to see me.
He wanted to speak. I saw
His mouth saying something
But the dream had no sound…
—W.S. Graham, “To Alexander Graham”
published in Collected Poems 1942–1977 (Faber, 1979)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48732/to-alexander-graham
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #fathers #FathersDay
the back-en turnt grey
the colourt wuids wis wae an wan
ye’d taen the auld auld road, man
an left the rosie leaf ahint…
—Brian Holton, “For Ma Faither”
1st Prize winner for Scots in the inaugural Tannahill Poetry Competition, 2017
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/for-ma-faither/
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #fathers #FathersDay #Scots #Scotslanguage
In the house where he sleeps
let my ears
be the leaves at the window.
Let the bulbs of the lamps
be my eyes
on the animal street…
—Miriam Nash, “Prayer for My Father as a Child”
published in All the Prayers in the House (Bloodaxe, 2017)
https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/all-the-prayers-in-the-house-1150
Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach,
mi fhèin is m’ athair,
is lìonadh sinn an eathar le
peilichean de rionnach, liutha,
is dheigheadh sinn timcheall a’ bhaile
gu gach nàbaidh gus am biodh na peilichean falamh…
—Iain MacRath, “Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach”
published in Don’t. Even. Ask. Too. Hot.: New Writing Scotland 42 (ASL, 2024)
https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws42/
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #fathers #FathersDay
Fade then, light; but longing never will.
Midsummer makes the west spectacular
and even gives its last glow a show
of reluctance, as if it had postponed
midnight…
—Edwin Morgan, “21 June”
Published in CATHURES (Carcanet, 2002)
Whatever the difference is, it all began
the day we woke up face-to-face like lovers
and his four-day-old smile dawned on him again,
possessed him, till it would not fall or waver…
—Don Paterson, “Waking with Russell”
Selected Poems (Faber, 2012)
A poem for Father’s Day
https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571281800-selected-poems/
MrAndrewD
Curtis
NewsWorld Cup defeat offers new US friends a quick lesson and tour of the Scottish psyche
Yes there’s the party side, the buoyant side, the one that makes friends everywhere it goes. But there’s the other side too
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/20/scotland-world-cup-defeat-morocco-us-friends
