The Piper on Iona

by Walter William Melnyk
(Glen Mills, PA)

Laird Will Piping on Iona

Laird Will Piping on Iona

The Piper on Iona

Below the crest of Manannan
the cold gray mist
blowing in from the cold, gray sea
where earth and air and water
meet and kiss
with the elemental passion
of the wilds,
the Piper plants his blackthorn
in the peaty ground.
Looking ’round
at earth and sea and sky
with a piper’s eye
he sees the wild poetry abound,
hears the sound of wind and wave
that calls aloud
for the piper’s skirl!
And with the proud
audacity that is a piper’s glory
he strikes the pipes,
in wild music tells a story
of ancient heroes and of present joys.
There, where all the wild weather gathers
upon Iona’s shore,
the Piper plays the wild notes of Scotland,
that fly off on the wind forevermore.

(C) Walter William Melnyk, 2012

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