Haddington

by Stewart Carruthers 1996

Spread along the valley
Amid the rolling hills
Lies a town that's stood for eons
Through its good times and its ills

With its stately parish kirk
Its mill, its bridges, and its walk
The ancient streets of Haddington
Breathe and sigh and talk

Through stormy times, through burnings
Through armies on the hoof
This citadel has suffered, plunged
And rose again, aloof

She's seen the glory of the moment
Disease and pain and death
Walls surround, closed in, forsaken
Yet still she's left with breath

Carlyle, and Knox and Wishart
John Brown and more to boot
All famous men, who, through the past,
Have given a common root

Now astride the highway
She still is full of verve
A town amidst the nation
She wants so much to serve

Winter

by Nessie Gell

Howling gales, swaying trees,
Blust’ry winds, swirling leaves,
Shining moon, starry sky,
Frosty morning, geese soar high
Ponds lie frozen, crispy grass,
see your footprints when you pass.
Hedgerows glisten in the sun
where spiders many webs have spun.
Friendly on the gate
for crumbs and titbits he will wait.
Crackling fires, lamps alight,
close drawn curtains, a winter’s night
Winter when our faces glow,
Winter time of ice and snow.

The Snowdrop

by Nessie Gell 

A fresh new snowdrop greeted me
Amongst the leaves beneath the tree
That delicate and tiny flower
Braves frost and raid and snowy shower
To tell us Spring is nigh 

My garden soon will bloom again
In summer sunshine, gentle rain
With pansies, roses, hollyhocks
But none can bring such joy to me
As that tiny snowdrop ‘neath the tree.