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A whishie in the African gress – Ower here! See meat! – Whit meat? – Peerie meat! Get pokes! – Ower yonder! See danger! – Whit danger? – Muckle danger! Get freens! A aroun the gressy groun The dirk-toothit tiger wirrs and gurls The five-fingert cuddie nickers and birls. The puggies yatter in the heichmaist trees The hyena lauchs hersel seik. In Africa, Europe, Australasia. – Hoo d’ye cook yon? – Whittle this? Big thon? In ahint the stalagmitic Palins twinin baists fae fowk Indo-European, Semitic Bitties o the Tooer o Babel Conjugations Neolithic Sing the sang an tell the fable Ootby in the claggy caul snaw In the warld’s room the snell winds blaw The wouf tae her freesty clan maks moanin The mammoth’s bougilin in the gloamin. Pictish, Tasmanian, Gothic, Norn, In ilka leid an ilka lan Grandminnies tellin roun the ingle Bi word o mooth an wag o haun O broonies an boglies An banshees at scraich in the nicht. She’s seen them nane But they’re there, a richt. A aroun the fermtoun The coo souchs – Moo! in the hoor for mulkin The bowfin dug brings the yowes tae fank The hens scraitch an claik in the mire Douce-faced cheetie yaws – Miaow! Fellin a ratton in the byre. Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic An the cock crawin – Cockieleerie-law! German, French, Portuguese Mary McCabe |
Mary McCabe 