discoursology

Homecoming Scotland

3 Comments to “Homecoming Scotland”

1. Ross
   28 January 2009 at 13:33

   Here are 2 of his unknown poems:
   Thanksgiving for a National Victory

   By Robert Burns

   Ye hypocrites ! are those your pranks?
   To murder men and give God thanks !
   Desist, for shame! –
   proceed no further;
   God won’t accept your thanks for
   murder !

   I murder hate

   I murder hate by flood or field,
   tho’ glory’s name may screen us;
   In wars at home I’ll spend my blood –
   Life-giving wars of Venus.
   The deities that I adore
   Are social Peace and Plenty;
   I’m better pleased to make one more,
   Than be the death of twenty.

   I would not die like Socrates,
   For all the fuss of Plato;
   Nor would I with Leonidas,
   Nor yet would I with Cato:
   The zealots of the Church and State
   Shall ne’er my mortal foes be;
   But let me have bold Zimri’s fate,
   Within the arms of Cozbi !

   Best wishes

   Reply
2. simon
   2 February 2009 at 17:34

   when talking about poets and burns, never forget barry burns and his collective of poets that are mogwai. “what would you do if you saw spaceships over glasgow?” still a valid question indeed.

   Reply
3. Alec McGowan
   17 February 2009 at 17:52

   Returned from North America (USA and Canada) last month, where, I regret to report, their priorities are of the rather more down-to-earth and mundane variety, rather than rampant nostalgia. Ex-Pats and general Scots diaspora have expressed the view that compared with Australia, New Zealand and NUSA very little money and even less effort put into promoting the Scottish ‘HameComin’, not to mention the embarasing debacle over ‘Tartan Week’. Being qualified in tourism I know that what we presented is at best unimpressive, at worst embarassingly inadequate … When it comes to nostalgia versus patriotism, my money is on patriotism to win everytime. We need to clean up not only our ‘act’ but our country, if we are to compete effectively in the high quality tourist market.

   Reply