POEM TITLE DAVID ANGUS MACKAY MACIVER
POEM
David Angus Mackay Maciver,
Swashbuckling sailor and audacious sea reiver,
Adventurer, pirate, buccaneer,
Sought he every lawless, wild frontier.
The toast of every seaside tavern,
From grandest alehouse to modest cavern,
Tales of his exploits were often told,
Till fame excelled him many fold.
Chance found him on Scottish shores,
At fine seaside Inn where the spirit pours,
In coastal village of Blackness-on-Sea,
A finer place ye can never be.
Across the din of the Blackness Inn,
Where all indulged in smuggled gin,
Spied a lass with eyes of bluest hue,
“Emma” whispered locals, her clan they knew.
Emma’s beauty was of great renown,
Far beyond the bounds of that small town,
Suitors tried for all they knew,
To woo those eyes of brightest blue.
But her mind was quick and her measures high,
High enough to demand the sky,
Though many a beau was want to try,
Patiently she waited for the perfect guy.
She glanced the great adventurer,
Something in his looks did stir,
Made her way to his party’s table,
To make conversation if she was able.
Though sense would call it plainly absurd,
Mac’s soul was smitten by just one word,
From Emma’s lips smiling sweet,
One flash of eyes, he was putty at her feet.
So afflicted was this Sailor Jim,
Begged Emma, right then, to marry him,
Promised, if she would take the chance,
To fill her life with sweet romance.
Davie was a well acclaimed, handsome lad,
Yet, her answer was to make him sad,
Told him it could never be,
For his life was forever wed to the sea.
Broken hearted, Mac sailed away,
Vowed never to return to Blackness Bay,
“A curse on all its worldly charm,
The Devil take all and do them harm!”
Yet, never from his mind would Emma stray,
Thought of her both night and day,
His body wracked with the greatest fever,
So suffered David Angus Mackay Maciver.
Nor had fair Emma forgotten him,
And though she knew the chance was slim,
Each day she made the lonely trip,
To scan far horizon for his pirate ship.
Though long time compelled to wait,
Never did she doubt her fate,
Cast her pure white homing dove,
To search the universe for his love.
On far lonely Ceylon shore,
Mac’s bleeding heart could stand no more,
Across the raging seas he would navigate,
No peril could keep him from her gate.
Auld Inn, now named The Lobster Pot,
There Emma served beer and many a whisky shot,
Yet, just when the fates required him to be bold,
At this last moment, Davie’s courage ran cold.
Stalked Blackness shore to practice his troth,
Pleading the Lord for strength to state his oath,
And soaring high far above,
A solitary pure white homing dove.
One single feather drifted through the air,
This, the sign for which he had hoped to dare?
Of all the places where it may land,
It gently fell to his outstretched hand.
Plucked his courage and away did trot,
To meet his fate at The Lobster Pot,
Shouting for Emma in voice aloud,
Pushed his way through heaving crowd.
As soon as his Emma he did meet,
Prostrate himself at her feet,
Begged her to hear his special pleading,
For life without her had no meaning.
Elated at Davie’s return more than she could say,
Emma’s joyful, beating heart near gave her away,
Yet, to test his mettle, folded arms and coyly stared,
Haughtily regarding him as if she never cared.
Patrons looked on aghast,
As Davie steeled himself to his task,
Ears strained to listen with enthral,
As the seafarer turned to address them all.
“I, David Angus Mackay Maciver,
Promise Emma I will never leave her,
Always love her, never deceive her,
So vows David Angus Mackay Maciver”.
But the promise that melted her heart,
That meant life together would finally start,
“Henceforth the furthest my soul will ever trail,
Is no more than the ‘Ship That Will Never Sail”.
They plight their troth on the very spot,
Right there at the bar of The Lobster Pot,
Married soon at Mission Church Hall,
Acclaimed by Blackness with Best Wishes from All.
Each day they walk the tide washed shore,
Surely now they could ask for no more,
A life where strife, there is not a trace,
And fully blessed by God’s Good Grace.
David Angus Mackay Maciver,
Promised Emma he would never leave her,
Always love her, never deceive her,
David Angus Mackay Maciver.
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