As you approach the Kyle of Durness on the north coast of Scotland, you may ask yourself - can anything so beautiful be distilled in words? Here you will find a ravishing counterpoint between long golden bars of sand vying for attention under the deepening colours of the turqouise and blue of the water. With the interplay of the sun it reminds me of a beautiful mythical woman with swaying long blond hair. In my poetical conscious I refer to the Kyle of Durness as 'Golden Hair' , which has inspired many poems over the years. It was suggested to me to put them all in one volume, although hair isn't my strong point here they are...

Sunrise

Clouds re-group as the morning progresses

brushing the petals of sleepy princesses

butterflies dance in garlands of flowers

the moorland drinks of your soft spring showers

Ambrosia combs out her golden tones

tangerine skies and the cold leaves your bones

coruscating colours spread down through the glen

the clouds whisper... "hey! Shall we start again? "

Golden Hair 

Fjord yield forth your golden bowers

pretty girls never tire of flowers

pallet of yellow and blue on the sand

midst a dream in a fairy tale land

ripples through the gloom when midnight cowers

kyle go wash your hair in the showers

sing! You are beautiful, Sing! You are free

sing melodies to the sound of the sea

evening's dust of gold beheld in your stare

go brush out your tresses...Golden Hair.

Golden Hair 2 - Once again she brushes her hair

The most precious gold is in your hair

the colours of peace abound in your stare

hills green as tunics onward to the sea

clouds white as wedding gowns, naturally

pink feathers float from a flamingo's wings

nature in trance as Ambrosia sings

break the gold seal with your silky sway

announce the miracle of a brand new day

ablaze with brilliance and beauty fayre

go brush out your tresses ...Golden Hair.

Golden Hair 3 - Forever brushing her hair

Let the sea breeze blow the tresses in your hair

scattering vibrant colours without a care

sky as blue as the iris of your eyes

Wilderness Queen you are so wise

you unburdened my heart and gave me peace

as the Great Artist gave you a golden fleece

a Heron so gracefully floats on by

but there is a teardrop in his eye

please sing a delightful melancholy air

when you brush out your tresses ... Golden Hair.

Ambrosia

Plaiting your hair as you sing all alone

basking in the evenings gradation of tone

a fuzz of russet gold surrounds your wings

for you hold the colour of all living things

go sing to infatuated painted clouds

consuming sunsets away from the crowds

adorning petals in your own patch of peace

our senses soften just like your dreamy fleece

I'll go and fetch my lute to play you my song

please wait Ambrosia... I wont be too long.

Ambrosia's dance

Plummeting sunbeams on the sunset lochs

silvery shadows play tig on the rocks

machair dances in the soft tinted glens

as traces of red are clear on the Bens

"walk through my dreams and my music so fair

feel the radiance of my long Golden Hair"

under the sweetness of that slumbering strain

Ambrosia's tears fell as welcoming rain

please play on your harp those old lullabies

embrace Gàidhlig joy as the newborn cries.

Golden Hair 4 - Ambrosia's ribbons 

Beneath the shelter of a sunset rose

Ambrosia's palanquins lay in repose

ribbons of pure silver and wedgwood blue

though our wants are many our needs are few

cocooned by nature on a lonely shore

golden candy floss floats down off the moor

a colourful world in a vibrant soiree

butterflies wings caress the air today

a breeze drifts through your veils without a care

untie your ribbons slowly ...Golden Hair.

Golden Hair - a longing

In lonely exaltation at the edge of the moor

my mind took me back to a far distant shore

Golden Hair was pottering down by the bay

holding destiny in her satin like sway

the singing sands were calling melancholy tunes

evening gusts serenaded over the dunes 

the Sandman strolled by on a shimmering sail

to sing you to sleep with a wistful tale

midnight seamstresses of the Great Artist enhance

your eternal silver slippered dreamward dance

with sleepy primroses edging in lines of blue

in surreal vespers she bids us adieu

Ambrosia's request

Come and  bring your emeralds before the Queen

placate the north wind with your pacifying sheen

the lantern shines through the gossamer overhead

on pedestals of gold where no man will ever tread

as you kissed the swirling compassionate sky

indigo cascaded over the mountain cumuli

"leave behind your heartache, leave behind your sorrows

drink my morning dew of endless tomorrows"

hear the winds of change sing in a soft minor key

like messages in bottles being carried to the sea

hold me in your heart as you float down lifes river

enjoy the gift please... but don't forget the giver.

Twilight

Silhouetted mountains on an orange sky

so many years have now floated on by

can you still cross the bridge of shadows

where promises were made in time's short hollows

cellos mournfully play the lyrics of time

on a plinth of dreams where no thoughts will align

through the haze, faces smile on a forgotten beach

painting roses for loved ones  where the dark cannot reach

rubies soak the glens, changing colour by the second

gold still dusts the hills where the sea loch beckoned

the Sandman will vanish at the first sign of light

as melancholy sinks into the silence of the night.

Ambrosia's veil

Her white veil danced in the salty mountain air

an amnesty of colours over the mornings machair

purple undulated in a chiffon of cream 

while blurs of yellow danced onward to the stream

summoning up imagery of pink and blue

tells you this is a hard journey to get through

but as footfalls crunch along a gound laden with frost

your furrows are widened by tbe Highlands Provost

so loneliness met sanity away from the crowds

where marram grass shimmers under vermillion clouds

as tiny petals fall on the white of the ground

the black veil settles without making a sound.

Sunset

Merlot clouds move in a buttercup breeze

golden apples are spreading auburn leaves

painted with honey and strawberries galore

as dusky purples adorn natures shore

the sun sits squat just like full bodied wine

in the end we all danced the same skyline

spray painted colours of natures caress

God's restfulness over man's restlessness.

Tha gaol agam oirbh🦋