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For Archie Dagg – Helen Richardson

Submitted by: Sally Brewis - 17th December 2021

Curlew gliding o’er the heather,
Soft in melting cadence crieds,
Tearing at the very heartstrings
Pouring beauty from the skies.

High above, the green-backed plover,
Fluting spins its magic spell
O’er the silence of the water,
At the quiet “Ladies’ Well”.

All the lilting liquid rhythms
Stored within the shepherd’s heart
Skilfully he shaped and polished,
Strung them with a craftsman’s art.

Now to-day with cunning fingers
Can the piper plaintive tell,
The haunting peace and timeless beauty
Of windswept, age-old Coquetdale.

Written to the tune ‘Ladies Well’ which Archie Composed for Kate Collingwood’s play Seven Nuns.