{"id":4117,"date":"2011-11-06T12:52:14","date_gmt":"2011-11-06T12:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2017-11-06T23:40:05","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T23:40:05","slug":"once-there-dwelt-a-scotsman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/once-there-dwelt-a-scotsman\/","title":{"rendered":"Once There Dwelt A Scotsman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Story of isolation, death, and how a burglar was more Christian than the townsfolk…, the latest of the old poems restored to the website.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once there lived a Scotsman
\nWhose years nobody knew
\nWho was seen by all in town
\nAnd known by very few.
\nFor men, for loners such as he
\nWere left that way… alone…
\nScorn and pity and indifference
\nBy the townspeople to him was shown.<\/p>\n

This Scotsman was nobody
\nNone knew from where he came
\nBar the obvious. from Scotland…
\nFew even knew his name.
\nAnd the children in the dusty streets
\nMaking song of him… the sang
\nFor he was also a simple sort
\nWho spoke in Scottish slang.<\/p>\n

And all unknowing of him went
\nAbout their business from day to day
\nNone spoke of him when he was not seen
\nBar the children when at play
\n‘Where is Mad Jock, the Scotsman:
\nBy this way he has not walked,
\nSo we get to mock no more’
\nSo of him the children talked.<\/p>\n

Some months passed until one day
\nA burglar an open door spied
\nIt looked an easy job, he thought
\nAs an escape route he eyed.
\nBut upon entering the house
\nHe did not rob, but instead,
\nStopped to mouth a silent prayer
\nAs he found Mad Jock rotted and dead.<\/p>\n

And though long passed to the other side
\nGod to love him never ceased
\nTo pray for the passing of his mortal soul,
\nGod sent the burglar… not the priest.
\n‘For God was with him at his end,
\nAs through his life’ the church bells to ring began…
\nAs the cortege passed by the house…
\nWhere once there lived a Scotsman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story of isolation, death, and how a burglar was more Christian than the townsfolk…, the latest of the old poems restored to the website. Once there lived a Scotsman Whose years nobody knew Who was seen by all in town And known by very few. For men, for loners such …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[2354,3965,3968,3964,1969,3967,3966],"class_list":["post-4117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-death","tag-death","tag-isolation","tag-loner","tag-month-of-the-dead","tag-november","tag-outcast","tag-town-living","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-14p","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4272,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/elegy-for-a-poet-i-once-knew\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":0},"title":"Elegy for a Poet I Once Knew","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"2nd February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alas,\u00a0 I learned of the passing of a poet Paul Curran I shared a stage with often at Scene of the Rhyme and other events. I didn't know him well, but enjoyed his works, and found him a pleasant down to earth person. He was part of the A-musing arts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Obituaries"","block_context":{"text":"Obituaries","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/obituaries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Paul Curran at the Scene of the Rhyme at F15 Festival in Tullamore in 2015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2280,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/dead-children-no-longer-the-news-that-sells\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":1},"title":"Dead Children: No Longer the News that Sells","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"14th September 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I knew it would happen, borders would be closed, media would turn again on the refugees, and the dead boy on the beach forgotton. I just did not think it would happen so quick... \"One death is a tragedy, a thousand a statistic.\" Immortal words of Josef Stalin. Walls raised,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/war-on-terror\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Headlines change against immigrants again - borders close. One dead boy is forgotton... all too common...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/headlines.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/headlines.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/headlines.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4213,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/lady-christmas-on-the-moor\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":2},"title":"Lady Christmas on the Moor","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"21st December 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"You have heard of Father Christmas, even Mrs Christmas his alleged wife... but you will not have heard of Lady Christmas... for she his but a ghost as this seasonal gothic poem tells... They call her Lady Christmas, at Christmas she does appear For it is said its at this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fog on the Moor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Fog-on-the-Moor.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Fog-on-the-Moor.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Fog-on-the-Moor.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Fog-on-the-Moor.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2379,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/she-loved-not-him-who-her-father-chose\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":3},"title":"She Loved Not Him Who Her Father Chose","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"16th October 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A poem I wrote some years back, on love, a disapproving family, and a tragedy of murder and suicide! which I now republish on the website... She loved not him who her father chose A man with castle and land Oh, no, it was but a humble serf Who asked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1390,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/twelve-mourned-as-two-thousand-are-forgotten\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":4},"title":"Twelve Mourned as Two Thousand are Forgotten","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"12th January 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic ~ Josef Stalin Millions marched - a world looked on in sympathy As is right and proper, for the Paris Twelve who were slain... As they were remembered, in another land two thousand lie forgotten\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Civil Rights"","block_context":{"text":"Civil Rights","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/civil-rights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"March in Paris for the Charlie Hebdo murders","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/March-in-Paris-for-the-Charlie-Hebdo-murders.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/March-in-Paris-for-the-Charlie-Hebdo-murders.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/March-in-Paris-for-the-Charlie-Hebdo-murders.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/March-in-Paris-for-the-Charlie-Hebdo-murders.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3067,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/no-tales-out-of-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":4117,"position":5},"title":"No Tales Out of School","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"1st August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In days of old if you were bold Or not, and got yourself slapped by the rule Your parents you never told as they would not scold But slap you again for getting punished in school. You - you kept mum, you kept schtum... Such a foundation in society was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Current Affairs in Ireland"","block_context":{"text":"Current Affairs in Ireland","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/current-affairs-in-ireland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tullamore in County Offaly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Tullamore-in-County-Offaly.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Tullamore-in-County-Offaly.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Tullamore-in-County-Offaly.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Tullamore-in-County-Offaly.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Tullamore-in-County-Offaly.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4154,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/4154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}