Poetry Corner: Brodgar by John Mingay

By theorkneynews on August 17, 2023 • ( 1 Comment )

a ring of silent elders
upright
weather-beaten
take stony turns
to face the sun
season after season

and always the wind
savage
snaking
to sing of the sacred
invented by men
wondering at their world

the answers mirrored
repeated
laid out
again in a circle
beyond where the earth
coughs up life beneath

the standing stones of Brodgar as the last rays of the sun light them up

Fresh from a bucket-list trip to Brodgar, this poem, by internationally respected poet, John Mingay, evokes the connections between Brodgar, Brodgar Ness and Stenness, as well as between ancient communities and the mysteries of the skies above. John currently lives overlooking the sea in Burntisland, Fife.

from the Ness of Brodgar site looking across the causeway to the Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse village and Maeshowe — view from the Ness of Brodgar over to the Standing Stones of Stenness

Categories: Uncategorized

Tagged as: Brodgar, Culture, John Mingay, Ness of Brodgar, poem, standing stones, Stones of Stenness

1 reply »

berniebell1955 says:

August 17, 2023 at 10:00 am

We went to The Ness….

http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16429

The dig has finished for this year and the site is being covered over again – I hope that out of sight won’t be out of mind, as the People of the Ness still need funding to continue their work.

Loading...