Written in Caithness

**Andy V. Frost** · 02-Oct-06, 20:32

Just a few words from a traveller who has developed a deep love for Scotland and particularly Caithness and hope to be back your way again in August 2007. A BIG thank you to all those who have made me welcome on my holidays and encouraged my annual yearning to return

HOLIDAY (LYBSTER AT NIGHT)

I can see the stars tonight,
The same stars but at a slightly different angle from home.

Orion and Sirius,
Familiar memories for a boy with his eyes fixed to the future,
Stardust in his dreams.

And the Moon,
A reddish-yellow, mellow peach,
Sultrily draped in a wispy lingerie of light cloud.

A breeze rustles the leaves,
Waves rustle on the pebble beach.

Lights wink on and off from offshore rigs,
Lights of a car round a bend in the distance.

Tires on road-stone pitter-patter,
Growling as the car nears,
Rushes past; then quietening,
Then gone.

The gentle background sounds resume their space,
I re-enter my lodgings with dreams on my mind.

I had time to see the stars tonight.

Copyrighted Andy V. Frost 25/08/04

OCEAN

The camera will never capture your essence,
The mind may concieve but only,
Snatched minute fragments of your vastness,
As your rolling, heaving, seething waves,
Atomise against the outcrops of Terra,
White horses seperated from their squadron,
Always regrouping for another assault,
And you, you can never stop,
never cease your war,
Against the blot in your perfection,
The landmass will lose one day,
But as long as the Moon is your Commander-in-Chief,
You are condemned to move forever.

Copyrighted Andy V. Frost 25/08/04

Ocean was concieved and initially written at the bottom of the Whaligoe steps on a day when the swell was quite heavy and the breakers, rather spectacular. I was seeking an image to quickly illustrate this poem and where it was written for another forum when i happened upon your forum and had my interest piqued when i noticed your "literature" section I have enjoyed reading some of your poems and will be back to read more at a quieter time.
I sincerely hope my intrusion on your forum is not unwelcome and that you might enjoy this outsider's views of your home.
best wishes
Andy V. Frost

**Gleber2** · 02-Oct-06, 21:10

Originally Posted by Andy V. Frost

Just a few words from a traveller who has developed a deep love for Scotland and particularly Caithness and hope to be back your way again in August 2007. A BIG thank you to all those who have made me welcome on my holidays and encouraged my annual yearning to return

Ocean was concieved and initially written at the bottom of the Whaligoe steps on a day when the swell was quite heavy and the breakers, rather spectacular. I was seeking an image to quickly illustrate this poem and where it was written for another forum when i happened upon your forum and had my interest piqued when i noticed your "literature" section I have enjoyed reading some of your poems and will be back to read more at a quieter time.
I sincerely hope my intrusion on your forum is not unwelcome and that you might enjoy this outsider's views of your home.
best wishes
Andy V. Frost

Welcome. I really like what you have posted. The fact that there is a copyright would suggest publication. Have you published?

**trinkie** · 03-Oct-06, 09:42

Frost has gone away
All too soon frost will return
Frost always welcome.

**Andy V. Frost** · 04-Oct-06, 21:04

Thank you for your welcome Gleber2

your sign-off has found my laughter nodes and i cannot seem to turn it off ;-)
I am just an amateur who enjoys writing and occasionally performing poetry as a hobby. I do not expect that to change, there are far many better poets than I
I have had a few poems published in some very small publications but nothing national. In respect of the copyright, i am just asserting my rights as author as posting any creative work on an internet forum is a form of publishing in its own right. Just a piece of mind safeguard which will probably be never needed BUT.....who knows the future

Originally Posted by trinkie

Frost has gone away
All too soon frost will return
Frost always welcome.

thank you trinkie,
any worries that i had have been thawed

My laughter nodes have launched into overdrive. I will return but not in the Winter ;-) (not on a motorcycle anyway!)

I wish i had a few more Caithness written poems to share with you all but the muse comes and goes when it pleases
i do have some poems written in Scotland if you would like to read a Londoner's views of you homeland from his travels but feel i should ask first in this instant

best wishes
Andy V. Frost

PS is there any way to C&P text into the posting message body? It would make life rather much easier as i do not possess the greatest keyboard skills

**Gleber2** · 04-Oct-06, 21:15

I, for one, would love to see some more of your work whatever the subject matter. Post on!!

**Andy V. Frost** · 04-Oct-06, 21:28

Originally Posted by Gleber2

I, for one, would love to see some more of your work whatever the subject matter. Post on!!

thank you Gleber2
i will post some soon but i am afraid that i will have to log off for now and i really must pay some respect to all the other wonderful poets and works here first
Please note that i edited my post since you have seen it... i always seem to leave things out

best wishes
Andy V. Frost

**Kingetter** · 04-Oct-06, 22:08

Originally Posted by Gleber2

I, for one, would love to see some more of your work whatever the subject matter. Post on!!

I certainly echo that. More please!

**Sporran** · 05-Oct-06, 04:29

Originally Posted by Andy V. Frost

I wish i had a few more Caithness written poems to share with you all but the muse comes and goes when it pleases
i do have some poems written in Scotland if you would like to read a Londoner's views of you homeland from his travels but feel i should ask first in this instant

Yes Andy, please post your other poems written in Scotland, and any others you wish to share with us.

We would love to read them!!

**Andy V. Frost** · 29-Oct-06, 14:43

Sorry that i have been away so long, I have been a bit unwell and on recovery, work went and will stay manic for the next few months. Good for my Bank balance :-D but it means that i will be a rather infrequent visitor here for the foreseeable future :-(

Thank you for all your welcomes and encouragement. Last year, i headed west from Caithness into the wild and wooly wilderness of northern Sutherland ;-) on the day of the big storms. This one started coming to mind as i passed the Split Stane and almost ran into three sheep not long after at about 50mph

. Not a nice thought when on a motorcycle on top of fighting heavy winds and trying to stay on the road with rather deep drops either side of it. Enough of the babble, if i need to say more than the poem, i haven't written it well enough

TOURIST IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Streams of tea chilled to perfection by Pre-Cambrian Gneiss cubes.

Treacle lakes lapped by shorn or wooly sheep
that proceed to devour anything green that resembles food
before turning kamikaze and crossing the road
as it is always greener on the other side,
just as you're passing.

White Van Man has long since changed to Red Van Farmer
and the rats that won the race to leave the city
are now Lemmings in search of the highest cliff.

The sun blinds you round the next bend,
A spotlight for Juliue Andrews launching herself over the brow
with arms outstretcehed like an eagle.
But you never see the lonely goat,
and eagles are rarer than rainbows.

Mountains never seem that high when you're amongst them.
The dilemma of is it mist or cloud is answered
once you can see clearly again.

You stop taking photos when every mountain, glen and loch,
looks like every other mountain, glen and loch.

and yet, just when you think you have seen it all,
you reach the nearest horizon
and something new jerks open your mouth

copyrighted Andy V. Frost 6/09/05

I hope you all enjoy. I finished it in a inn on a mountain somewhere between Smoo and Ullapool. I almost drove off a mountain when i thought of the "Julie Andrews" line ;-)

Please can someone tell me if there is a way to C&P to the post body. it would make my life a lot easier as for assorted reasons, I am NOT the best typist in the world and this post has taken me close to 30 minutes.

I will leave you now but seeing a lot of halloween bits around, I will try and find that poem i wrote oh-so long ago 8)

best wishes
Andy V. Frost

**Kingetter** · 29-Oct-06, 15:17

Andy, from my perspective your work is so refreshingly different and thoroughly enjoyable. Frankly, I welcome more of it.

Ref C & P -, I do quite a lot of that from text typed in Notepad. Just open the (new?) thread and paste in, having 'copied' from notepad. There'll be other ways which folk will come up with as well I expect.

James.