The poems of Scottish poet and teacher Norman MacCaig are noted for their simplicity and directness. Irish poet Seamus Heaney described MacCaig’s verse, ‘His poems are discovered in flight, migratory, wheeling and calling. Everything is in a state of restless becoming: once his attention lights on a subject, it immediately grows lambent.’  Describing his native Scotland, MacCaig shows us the familiar world with a freshness and a keen eye for humble subjects.

This poem is subject to copyright restrictions. Please search for the full poem in an anthology or at your local library.

‘Sounds of the Day’

When a clatter came,
It was horses crossing the ford.
When the air creaked, it was
A lapwing seeing us off the premises
Of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
Ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
Unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
Falling sixty feet into itself.

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Read these other excerpts and find a new poet to love:-
‘Along The Field As We Came By’ by AE Housman
‘The Boy Tiresias’ by Kate Tempest
‘The Roses’ by Katherine Towers

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A #poem to read in the bath: ‘Sounds of the Day’ by Norman MacCaig https://wp.me/p5gEM4-4cc via @SandraDanby