From The Sowls Yeer by John Roy
9th October 2013
From The Sowl's Yeer
Scots by John Roy from the German of Rudolph Steiner
(28 Aprile-4 Mey)
“Ach - here A fin’ masel !”
Sae, findin’ this, the sowl
That reckons aa the warld in flowin’ licht
An’ Sinlicht in the sowl
Tae skiritie brings warmth
Oor ain fowk an’ the warld
Birl ane gey ceilidh!
(5-11 Mey)
In Licht, at oot the howes o’speerit
In space sae fruchtfu’ webbin
The Gods shaw aa thar makkin:
In is sheens oot the sowl in aa its weys
Noo braidit tae the warlds ain bein’
An bracht agin tae life
Ower inlyin selheid’s enner micht.
(2-8 Juin)
Forgettin’ aa the wull that A alane hae wrocht
I’m fitted oot wi’ warmth
That fous the warlds an’ sperks the simmer in
In licht tae lose masel, or so it’s gien,
This picter fu’ o’ speerit tells ma thinkin’
An aa that augurs in me drums in learnin’
Gin ye but lose yersel. ‘tis you yer findin’
(30 Juin- 6 Julie)
Bein’ in the hichts o’ the senses
Flames in ma ain sowl deeps
Lowp wi’ the speerit’s fiery warlds -
The wird o’ truth, oot o’ the Gods thaimsels
In the grun o’ speerit sik expectant
Freens o’ the speerit there tae fin’.
(28 Julie - 3 August)
Oot speks the Warld’s wird
Soondin its music throu the doors o’ ma senses
In ma sowl’s grun respondin:
Be fu tae yer uttmaist howes o’ speerit
Wi ma warldwid boon
Tae fin’, in time, masel in ye.
(20-26 October)
Masel, thinkin’s licht
Inower souderin’ tae a firedamp
Makkin a wee bit sinse o life
Oot aa the swirlin swelch o’ cosmic speerit,
Fer me - its simmer’s heirship
Its hairst’s lown, an its a howp in wunter.
(27 October - 2 November)
Sprootin in ma ain sowl’s sinlicht
Thochts fa as maumie frucht,
Tae better ken masels a kin o’ caution
Cause aa ma feelins chynge.
A fin a kin o’gledness in the saison
As Hairst’s hert speerit beats oot rhythm
This wunter wull in me inbring
A simmersowl awaukened
Scots translations by John Roy
If there's anyone out there who still has doubts about Scots as a fully functioning language, here is some poetry translated from German into Scots.
Anthroposophichen Seelenkalendar, the original work by Rudolph Steiner, is a series of short poems, one for each week of the year. It is a well known work which has been translated into English, and discussed and performed many times, and not just within the circles of Anthroposophy. Our image is from a performance of Seelenkalendar in German.
John Roy has done this Scots version as The Sowl's Yeer. Forty of the 52 pieces have been turned into a beautiful book with illustrations by the artist Eva Mees-Christeller, and I have selected from the poems he has placed beside her artwork. The whole work may be found on the internet and it is well worth looking up.
The work in Scots has already been performed in Scotland, at the Netherbow in Edinburgh and at Camphill in Glasgow, where there are special connections with Steiner's work.
The author studied Scots with particular reference to the Lorimer Bible and by visits to Glasgow schools and communities.