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Writer's pictureRose Donaldson

FIVE GATES

Gravel crackling under foot

Grass creeping over untended verges

Rotting fences rendered useless by the wind and rain

The bluetit, blackbird, crow and the rook

Disturbed by the crunchy stomp approaching

They take flight swiftly finding refuge

On the wafer thin branches of the fir trees

Sheep graze idly on the sloping rocky hills

Only glancing up lazily to show derision

Passing through one of the five rusty gates brings new sights

Either Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Shetland and Highland coos

Munch greedily on the wild and plentiful grasses

Before loping down the hillside to be milked

The creaking of the decades old gate doesn't deter them from their mission

The vista on a clear day from the old Victorian pipeline

Opens up to the glistening loch in the distance framed by the Munros

The view ends abruptly when the mighty oak blocks the passage through the fifth gate

Completing this feast for not just the eyes but the mind, body and soul.




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3 Comments


Unknown member
Nov 23, 2023

I love a descriptive poem like that. You had me walking alongside you

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Rose Donaldson
Rose Donaldson
Nov 21, 2023


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Alison Blevins
Alison Blevins
Nov 20, 2023

Some dramatic Scottish scenery described here, very evocative, thank you.

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