A Solitary Piper

A special request from my archives, and I was that girl

Clad in the tartan of his clan

a piper played a sore lament,

beside the margin of a loch

he piped alone to his content.

Across the vastness he addressed

the lonely depths ten fathoms deep,

the agonies of battles lost

and deeds of men to make one weep.

Gun-metal grey Autumnal sky,

a glint of sunlight through the cloud,

a shaft of gold cast wide its net

as piper's notes were carried loud

and echoed all around the glen

to bounce off rippled water clear.

For all that he both knew and loved

was in this place he held so dear.

Beneath a canopy of trees

of layered ochre, rust-brown skirts,

a woman of but twenty years

watched him in silence, felt his hurt.

A rugged, solitary Scot,

mature in looks, so unaware

that he had touched a stranger's heart

when melancholy filled the air.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

nature, humans, the integration, the questions asked of each other in silence...i remember finding a small bird at my folk's house on the lake...saved it from drowning...nursed it back to health...it stuck around for a few days even after it could fly...there is some kind of understanding developed...was.
this reminds me of Frost...
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Jacob. It is a wonderful feeling, that blending into the natural environment. Never forgotten that piper.

Chris

[MOON]

Can hear the mournful bagpipes tune, on the windswept hills. Lovely , thanks for all the reviews truly appreciated.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Moon for your review. I appreciate your visit.

Chris

[kentuck14]

Chris,

May I assume the 'piper' played a bagpipe? A beautiful and haunting lyric. My Celtic DNA sang with the piper's lament.

Tom

[Chris Shaw]

Oh yes indeed, the beautiful melancholic sound of the bagpipes echoing around the Glen. Unforgettable. So pleased these lines sang to your Celtic DNA. That put a smile on my face.

Chris

[Dave]

It is wonderful the solace we can discern from music. Even the soulful playing of a flute and to find that it stirs not just yours but others hearts as well. I really liked this.

Take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Dave. Music can really get to your soul. That's what the bagpipes did for me that day. Pleased you liked the poem. A real oldie.

Chris

[Dave]

I did, I did!

Thank you - Dave

[DIVYA]

Hi Chris,
The poem is very haunting and beautiful in its depths. Loved how you painted the sky in the second verse. I could picture you standing there watching him address the ten fathoms deep water. A great writer is a great observer and you have such a penchant for absorbing nature’s colours and bringing them to your reader ❤️

[Chris Shaw]

What a lovely review DIVYA. Yes, even though this took place a long time ago, I can still remember clearly the heaviness in the sky that afternoon with a glint of sunlight streaming through. Many thank yous. Always so good to see you here.

Chris

[DIVYA]

How deeply you lived those moments, is reflected in this poem Chris. It’s such a pleasure to be here always!

[Lorry]

Oh, I do need to be careful on this one, as they will hunt me down and take away my Scottishness if I mention how much I have groan to detest the pipes. It wasn't so bad in the city, as its only in toursy places they are played, but in the countryside they are bloody everywhere. (shh, bit I can't stand whisky either) :)
You do pen it so finely though Chris, like the tune itself should be called a lament for any and everything. The beauty and fragility of sadness in music can mean something different to every listener, but a lament is well named, as it brings our aches and anguish to the surface.
You painted such a beautiful scene here, only for me to come along and spoil it with my moaning. I don't know why, but it is my auto reflex to punch at the first droning wail of the pipes and ask questions later. Violence never solves anything, except you cant play the pipes eith broken teeth :)

[Chris Shaw]

Hello Lorry. See you were up at silly o'clock, hope you a aged some sleep. You don't like bagpipes or whiskey and you hail from Scotland? I hope you wrote that while wearing your kilt or you could be in trouble :) The old bagpipes really do bring out the moan in ya. I tell you what though that Piper, (Sean Connery look alike) really turned my head that day. Magnificent he was :) So magnificent that I remembered him twenty years later when I wrote this poem. Have a great day

Chris

[Chris Shaw]

Oops sorry about typos.

[Lorry]

I had a burns supper that was served in whisky sauce, ehich was okay, but even when I did drink, it was never whisky, its a grown up drink . I'd rather have ribena or um bongo :)

[Chris Shaw]

I'm a vimto gal meself lol

[Stella Armour]

i don't think there is anything more haunting than a lone piper, you have created a lovely atmosphere of him finding the melancholy of the young woman..

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Stella. It's a very old poem. I resurrected it because it was Burn's night a couple of nights ago and both Dave and Lorry were talking about the haggis being piped in. Thank you for your lovely review. Hope all is good with you.

Chris

[Stella Armour]

yes thank you... although still got that brick wall up when it comes to writing new poems lol. bagpipes actually annoy me to death, but a lone piper can be very hauntingv and beautiful ..:)

[Chris Shaw]

Well I always thought of Sean Connery, and that did it for me lol. My muse has given me a few new poems recently, but she is certainly being stingy. Not easy coming up with new ideas.

[Stella Armour]

Lol, Sean Connery ... mmm i can see him being a wonderful muse. I am not greatly into romantic poetry, in fact i don't really know what i am into haha... music usually inspires me , the words seem to come to match the atmosphere of the music. Perhaps i better stop listening to Finbar Furey as i have been doing lately lol, and get some classics playing..

[Chris Shaw]

Music is wonderfully creative. A good way to get some inspiration

[Stella Armour]

usually it is Ernesto Cortazar that i listen to, but then i spent ages in love with Leonard Cohen, and now its Finbar haha...

[Chris Shaw]

Both fine artists :)

[Stella Armour]

Yes, i dabble with art as well... i must concentrate my mind back to Ernesto and see what i can write :)

[Chris Shaw]

Good luck and nightnight Stella :)

[Stella Armour]

Good night Chris... am going to find Ernesto lol x

[Jade]

so very lovely, enjoyed the read

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Brandie Jade. I appreciate your time. All good wishes.

Chris

[john l smith]

Beautiful....................

[Chris Shaw]

Pleased you enjoyed it. I had to do quite a bit of digging in the archives. (well if that sounds posh it's a bloody great box under the bed)

[john l smith]

Well worth the dig and a wonderful way to remember the occasion.
You were the watcher?

[Chris Shaw]

I was indeed. My parents moved to Broxbourne for a couple of years and this was when I went for a visit :) Brought some nice memories back posting this, so I have you to thank.

[john l smith]

no!
I have you to thank