The Stones of Scotland

 Regent Road Park

A monument to commemorate the new Scottish Parliament

 

  The Stones of Scotland Monument in Regent Road Park, Edinburgh - A monument to commemorate the new Scottish Parliament ©

Peter Stubbs                                                                                                                                    Photograph taken 6 November 2005

 

The Stones of Scotland

This stone in the centre of the monument, in Regent Road Park, overlooking Holyrood Palace and the new Scottish Parliament, quotes the last five lines from the following words by Hugh MacDairmid (1892-1978).

The Stones of Scotland Monument in Regent Road Park, Edinburgh - A monument to commemorate the new Scottish Parliament ©

"It requires great love of it deeply to read
The configuration of a land
Gradually grow conscious of the fine shadings
of great meanings in slight symbols.
Hear at last the great voice that speaks softly.
See the swell and fall upon the flank
Of a statue carved out of a whole country's marble
Be like Spring, like a hand in a window
Moving New and Old things carefully to and fro.
Moving a fraction of a flower here
Placing an inch of air there
And without breaking anything.

So I have gathered unto myself
All the loose ends of Scotland
And by naming them and accepting them,
Loving them and identifying myself with them,
Attempt to express the whole."

 

 

'The Stones of Scotland'

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