The Clan Remembers- Scottish poems by Neil Stewart McLeod

 The Clan Remembers is the fifth in a series of ten collections of poetry by Neil Stewart McLeod. Directly influenced by Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod, the author grew up surounded by Scottish clan heritage. Here are fourteen poems that directly relate to the Hebridean Clan MacLeod, including “The Song Of The Caurie Shells”, “A Lament for the Games At Coombs Ranch,” “It Takes Your Breath Away,” and the title poem which is an accumulation poem, a MacLeod version of the “The House That Jack Built”.

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The Song of the Cowrie Shells

There is a legend that if you should gather twelve caurie shells on the coral beach, the fairy folk will weave a spell that will bring you back to Skye.

There's an island I know made of heather and peat

Where the mountains rise sheer from the sands,

And out in the loch there are seals at play

While the mist hides the craggy headlands.

My love for the island is calling me back

To the land of my tartan, my home,

To the Waternish beach above Suardal,

It's there in my heart that I roam.

There to the west a trophy you'll find

blessed with its own special spell.

The great old Dame at the Castle

Knew of this magic well.....

They say if you go to the Coral Beach

With the wish in your heart to remain

On the isle with the mist and the magic

You shall come to this island again.

You must go to the beach with your wishes,

When the tide is low look and find

Twelve wee shells of the Cowrie

On the beach there all at one time.

So take the road north from the Castle,

Go to Claigen below Beinn Bhreac,

Then follow the path by the cliff tops

To the beach there away to the left.

There look with your love for an hour

While the tide is out lying low,

For the wee crinkled shells of the Cowrie

Till you have all twelve in a row.

Then look to the loch and the shoreline,

And south where the great Tables lie,

And imagine the lofty pinnacles 

Of the Cuillins against the wild sky.

In your heart you've cemented the blessing

Of the peat and the heather and moor,

And by keeping those twelve little Cowries

You will find your way back to the shore.

So remember the Old Chief who called you,

To come back to the Isle, with a sigh,

And your treasure will guide your steps swiftly

Back home to the Isle of Skye.