During this week in history two events related yet unrelated occurred. On the 23rd August 1305 William Wallace was hung drawn and quartered for his beliefs. Fast forward to the 29th August 1825: the day that Portugal recognised Brazil as an Independent country. With these two events in mind I have chosen a poem by Scottish Poet Paul J Colvin.

Photo from commons wikimedia

They Walk With Us.

Have you seen those fleeting shadows that sweep across your eye
And knew not where they went to and never questioned why
It’s a censorship that’s in our mind, our will to set us free
They walk with us along our path, we are their destiny.

Can we forget the price they paid, all those sacrifices made
Or the feats of their endurance, the true courage they displayed?
How they fought, how they won and how each fighter died
We think of them as heroes and must rightly feel their pride.

They talk to us from flowing streams and watch us from the trees
They inspire us in what’s yet to come and whisper in the breeze
Where the moon lays down its silver light, their shadows are revealed
Standing proud, defiant with a battle wearied sword and shield.

We look at mountains side to side eye them up and down
The constant struggles with themselves and those against the crown
We see within our inner eye strange visions so obscene
Then think about that consequence and all that might have been.

We see not just those Jacobites but Picts and Scots as well
Where mighty Roman armies we welcomed to their hell
Their towers razed unto the ground in a frenzied free for all
And some say the ghosts of Roman greats still stand beside their wall.

It’s a wilderness where dreams are held, where you uncover all your thoughts
And these visions that surround us, reminds us we are Scots
Our minds construct these vivid scenes from the mind’s deep, dark abyss
We are their creators, and for our future must exist.

Their gaze is straight towards us but their eyes are from the past
A look that bores right through with a courage unsurpassed
These are no illusions but kindred spirits of your mind
We are them, we are one and forever are entwined.

We are their survivors and they walk upon our breath
And though they may be in the past, their spirits live in death
For they are our inheritance and give strength to our demands
There are no lonely souls out there, just the keepers, of our land.

Paul Colvin.
© 25th August 2016