Kinnoull

In the Fair City of Perth

Fire broke out today

I saw a shot of South Street

Main highway

Straight as an arrow

It leads across the Tay

And up a holy hill

Kinnoull monastery

 

There I went at seventeen

A boy oh just a boy

To be measured out for priesthood

Life’s employ

I had done six years already

Cradle snatched from home

Now I walked those cloisters

Alone

 

The world has changed

Kinnoull has too

Renewed for modern times

Ordinary folk can go there now

Church and laity rhyme

 

It is beautiful secluded

Yet on a beaten path

And looks out on the world below

And summons folk to go

Come up here and rest awhile

The hillside is serene

I remember it so well

From when I was seventeen

 

Brian Fahy

2 January 2023