Caw! Caw! Caw!

Early this morning a carrion crow was busily digging for goodies out on the sandy shore. The scene reminded me of John C. Milnes's poem, caw!, caw!, caw! written in Doric, our local dialect. 

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Said an aul' dane craw,
As he dichtit his nib on a docken, 
"I'm warein awa',
But I care na a straw,
For I've tastet the tatties o' Buchan"

Which more or less translates as:

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Said an old worn-out crow,
As he wiped his beak on a dock plant,
"I'm worn out, 
But I don't care a straw,
For I've tasted the potatoes of Buchan" (a district of NE Aberdeenshire) 

A writer of farming stock, John Milne (1897-1962) was born at Memsie near Fraserburgh. After a brilliant academic career at Aberdeen University, he turned to teaching, later becoming Master of Method at Aberdeen College of Education. His verse collection, The Orra Loon, was published in 1946 and his collected Poems in 1963.