Friends from down south come to visit us in Fife, or travel with us further north or west, but we often hear the phrase ‘We don’t come to Scotland for the weather.’ We get phone calls invariably asking, ‘what’s the weather like?’ We can almost hear the disappointment or lack of belief when we say ‘Oh, it’s a lovely afternoon,’ or ‘it’s sunny here today,’ or ‘it’s a beautiful evening.’
I cannot quote a poem by Pauline Prior-Pitt for copyright reasons but I’ve written one of my own, inspired by reading her lovely book of poems ‘be an angel.’
Do You Remember the sun my friend
White sandy beaches stretching far, as froth tipped rollers race.
Layers of blue, purple, green ~
sea, cliffs,
lochs, headlands,
inlets, islands,
out to the misty beyond.
Sun kissed onyx rocks, blackness gleaming after rain.
Blue sky
piercing greyness,
framing mountain peaks,
dispersing wisps of cloud.
The stillness in that sheltered place where all our being glows with warmth.
Do you remember the wind and rain my friend
or do you remember the sun.