On Sunday the hawk fell on Bigging
And a chicken screamed
Lost in its own little snowstorm.
And on Monday he fell on the moor
And the field club
Raised a hundred silent prisms.
And on Tuesday he fell on the hill
And the happy lamb
Never knew why the loud collie straddled him.
And on Wednesday he fell on a bush
And the blackbird
Laid by his little flute for the last time.
And on Thursday he fell on Cheat
And peerie Tom’s rabbit
Swung in a single arc from shore to hill.
And on Friday he fell on a ditch
But the questing cat,
That rivel, rampant, fluttered his flame.
And on Saturday he fell on Bigging
And Jock lowered his gun
And nailed a small wing over the corn.
George Mackay Brown
(1921-1996) Born in Stromness, in Okney . Collected Poems;The University Press Cambridge
I like the simplicity of the ideas expressed in it. I like the structure and the repetition of the format. I like the use of language e.g. The blackbird and his flute, the questing cat fluttering his flame, the chicken’s snowstorm. Nice use of alliteration too. Above all, I like the imagery used to depict the environment.
Kathy Cooper