BEALACH NA BA
(Pass of the Cattle)© GERALD ENGLAND.
The signpost warned us in advance --
narrow, one in five, triple hairpin bends --
Unsuitable for Learner Drivers -- it said.
We climbed into cloud, blindly negotiated
the hairpins before descending into sunshine.
At Applecross and Toscaig the sea
was a clear crystal, bright and blue
as sea is always meant to be
not grey or green as it's usually seen.
Raasay and Skye seemed only offshore land.
The cloud had moved on for our return.
We rested at the summit, surveyed the sea
laden with islands, the land punctured by lochs,
and pondered how cattle could ever pass
over such a hostile and precipitate way.
Descending to Kishorn where an oil-rig
was being assembled like a meccano toy,
we looked down as gods over the mountains,
uncountable peaks of barren rock
stretching to an infinite horizon.
Composed: Oldham, 1st September 1976
Publication
1984 Ocarina (UK)
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