Buirdly
Pitlochry was the nexus of the soul,
Religions’ soul, when Stephenson was young.
He might have been a Hindu in his role
Of savant. There he spoke with seer’s tongue
Upon the village street. He saw a man
Mistreating his puir dog and intervened.
The dwaumie prophet, more St. Francis than
A Buddha, Robert Louis supervened
Because no god or mystic seemed to be
Around to help the beast. The owner said,
“It’s not your dog.” The poet, though, could see,
“It’s God’s dog!” Speaking with Elijah’s dread,
Slight Stephenson exclaimed, “. . . and I am here
To save it,” strongly as a buccaneer.
~ Phillip Whidden