POEM OF THE DAY

JOHN Coutts, former writer-in-residence at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, wrote a series of poems between 2015 and 2021 to celebrate some of the treasures to be found there and to commemorate outstanding exhibitions. His pamphlet, Enchanted Ground, includes the poem below, reflecting on the Flow Country, ‘A vast expanse of blanket bog in the far north of Scotland,’ which is a ‘vital defence against the effects of climate change.’

THE FLOW COUNTRY EXHIBITION Opened on January12, 2017

Today’s display reveals an eerie land To those of us who live on Comfort Street,

In numbered houses or in gated flats Guarded by garden gnomes or watchful cats,

With fences marking out our private place,

And potted plants sustained by bags of peat.

For far too long we failed to understand,

Deeming the wilderness a waste of space,

Sadly neglected under squelching moss.

Let there be timber here, or sheep or grain!

Iinsert the fence: dig deep the drain, Dry out this unproductive bog; Dethrone the dragonfly, the newt, the frog.

Mere mud is no great loss.

Strip off the peat, year on laborious year,

And let the moneymaking soil appear.

But now we know The Flow is holy ground,

Rich, rare and old

Stronger than bitcoin, bling or vaulted gold.

Empty of man-made sound,

Its clustering coloured mosses hide – and half reveal –

A watery world where aliens dart and glide.

Deep stores of peat conceal

Carbon well-hoarded to protect the air; And windblown lochs provide

A frail ‘Dunroamin’ for our diving birds. All this is ours to cherish and enjoy, Or else destroy

Beyond repair...

But that’s enough well-meaning words From me. Our special offer comes for free.

So...

Go with the Flow

Look. look again, and see.