When I Walked To Leven ©

by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
(Codsall)

I arrived at the Forth Bridge at the break of dawn,
On May 14th on an early morn.
By the 15th I’d walked into Leven,
On paths and beaches and trails uneven.
No dismal clouds were brewing a wee shower,
I saw silver sands at Aberdour.
Edinburgh I viewed from Lammerlaws,
Castle ruins by rocky shores.
The bluest sky I had ever seen,
Over Burntisland way beyond Aberdeen.
In the Lang Toun of Kirkcaldy,
Links Street I was conscious of a kindred stroll.
West and East Wemyss were peaceful and quiet,
Also Michaels Colliery of coal.
There’s no more working mine I found,
Silent shafts are underground.
No coal soot faces in lantern light,
In miners hands to aid their sight.
I observed a memorial for Methil and Buckhaven,
They sailed from these shores washed and clean-shaven.
Taking time to respect the gallant who fell.
And died for this land in wars of bloody hell.
I imagined them all as I walked to Bayview.
Fishermen, Weavers and Miners too,
Were they shattered and buried in a far foreign soil?
In the mills and the fields did their widows still toil?
Onwards from the Parish of Methil I strode,
The thought of kilted soldiers lessoned my load.
I felt rays of the sun tanning my skin,
How do I start, how can I begin.
To explain my emotions by all of those shores,
That fantastic view from Lammerlaws.
Those paths and beaches and trails uneven,
The Bawbee Bridge when I walked into Leven.
With a small piece of stone that fit in my hand,
That I had picked from the beach at Pathhead sand.
Another two days fascinated by Fife,
My ancestral Kingdom is alive in my life.

Edited by May
Robbie has written some other fabulous poems about Fife - some of which are on this site. But do check out his own site RKB Poetry