In Transit

Swish, swish - from side to side;
The audio-visual battle is fought
Right in front of my weary eyes.
Wipers versus Rain On My Windscreen.
Verdi versus Drifting Into Sleep.

A wet metal Scotland grows smaller
Until it disappears -
Blows away under clouds of destitution.
At last my eyes will rest.

Ninety minutes east the sky glitters
And the heat hits me on the tarmac
In what was once my country.

It is now that I remember
That today is Valpurgis Night
And people will dedicate their voices;
They will sing to New Life around firesides
When I'll head for Ward Seventy-One.