BORN FROM SCOTLAND'S SKY
THE “SALTIRE”
{ATHELSTANEFORD}

Amid the rural lands of East Lothian,
Sits a village, unassuming, to the passer by,
Where fly’s a flag that makes us so proud,
To an army once, a sign in the sky.

When Picts and Scots took to the sword,
With Anglo Saxons they were faced,
It was then the historic year 832AD,
To the sky, Angus’s eyes were placed.

This leader, Angus, his army of Scots,
Took strength from the image above,
For in Scotland’s sky, so blue, so bright,
The Saltire, we care for, and love.

A hallmark was present across the blue,
As blades crossed on a Scottish dance floor,
It flamed up the blood our fighting men,
The origin of the Saltire... Came to the fore.

So if ever you take to wandering,
Through East Lothian’s hills and rural lanes,
Call in to Athelstaneford’s village church,
A time well spent, in this historic domain.

Poet: © Peter M McCulloch
Peachdales Haddington EH41 3NX