Scottish Poetry Selection
- The Ploughman

At the time Walter Wingate was writing this poem, ploughing would be carried out by a horse-drawn plough, guided by the ploughman behind.


The Ploughman

Where upland winds are blowing
     And skies are paly blue,
And hedges all have hills to climb
     And level fields are few,

I love to watch the ploughman
     Go slowly up the brae,
And reach the crest, a silhouette
     Between me and the day.

And while the hedge beside me
     Makes music in the wind,
I trace him where he moves unseen
     By lapwing flights behind.

And from the newest furrow,
     All glossy from the steel,
There glows a warmth within my heart
     My fingers cannot feel.

But while I watch the ploughman,
     All unresponsive he
Goes stolid, stolid, up and down,
     And never looks at me.

Return to the Index of Walter Wingate Poems or the General Index of Scottish Poetry



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