Tied to Stakes
They stand and face the sea
Wigtown Martyrs
Known to you and me
Margaret McLachlan
63 years old
Margaret Wilson
18 so I’m told
Condemned to die
Because they would not swear
Allegiance to the king
In holy rules
Brave they were and bold
To even dare
Stand up against
The idiocy of fools
What madness we employ
To rule the world
Dividing people
Into right and wrong
We do it all the time
As time unfurls
We even sing about it
In our song
The Margarets
Saw death approaching slow
To give them time to change
And bend the knee
But faithful to the way
They wished to go
They stood their ground
To drown eventually
The only ‘mercy’
Given at the end
To cut the throat
And speed their sad demise
A wicked day
A wickedness to mend
Be merciful
And hear another’s cries
Brian Fahy
19 May 2021
Erris Poetry 