Watter Inside

The watter inside
Ilka drap in its wee skin,
A hunner thoosand or mair;
Cells that mak oor bleed
An ivry single bit o’s
Full o watter fae years
Langer deid than maybe;
Jist the mindin we cairry wi us.

Satty watter
Watter fae seas gaen dry,
Watter at covert hills
Noo scratched in dust
Or made dubs deep in ocean brine.

In sic sma watter
Lie the pairts o stories
Nae moo can ever spik’,
Mere bitties gaithert
Fae aa the spawnin
That brocht us here.

The watter inside
Smells like tears fresh-grat
Like aa the greetin o aa time
Fae ivry faither afore’s;
An fae aa the mithers
A skin inside
Cairries fae them alane
A special eeran, secret messages
In a line unbreached,
Bindin us tae birth
Ayont the seed itsel,
Bindin us tae oor coming
Girnin oot o the wame o years.

© BH 2015

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Facebooking, in the Scots Language Forum, I spotted a request from Diane Anderson for Scots poems suitable to read to every department in a secondary school. Particularly Biology, Chemistry and Technical. Seemed like a good opportunity to write something.

This is about cells, genetics and mitochondria.

Aye.