Perth High Street in earlier days.
| introduction | life | poetry | bibliography |
Read and listen to selected poems
Thrang and Thrivin
| Wha daunders round St Johnstoun, Or up and doun onie gate, Will gang by monie a kirk and pub, And monie a doctor's plate. |
But whether a rowth o' preachin Is byord'nar drouthy wark; Or whether a rowth o' leechin Maks folk keep in wi' the kirk; |
Or whether a rowth o' drinkin Needs a rowth o' physic and prayer - Ye winna be lang in thinkin They're a' thrang and thrivin there. |
Glossary
| daunders - strolls; | St Johnstoun - Perth; | onie gate - any road; | monie - many; | kirk - church; |
| plate - nameplate; | rowth - abundance; | byord'nar - extraordinary; | drouthy - thirsty; | wark - work; |
| leechin - doctoring; | physic - medicine; | thrang - strong. |
Most poems on the site have audio. Please click the play button if you want to hear a recording.
The audio window will open left centre of the page so you can read the words while listening to the recording.
You can scroll the page independently of the audio window if it overlaps any of the words.
The audio replays automatically, so please remember to close the window when you are finished.