When Malcolm was the King of Scots,
The Normans came to call.
The Bastard put out Harold’s eye
And England fell in thrall.
Then Saxon Margaret northward fled.
Our king took her as bride
And granted to her cup-bearer
Rich lands both broad and wide.
Just south of Embra, pearl of the land,
Lay Rosslyn rich and fair.
And Malcolm gave it to her knight
William ‘Seemly’ St. Clair.
The family grew in wealth and fame
Four centuries past them ran.
Another William owned the lands.
A pious, holy man.
He planned to build a mighty church
With skyward-steepling spire.
Where saint and sinner, lord and serf
Could seek some purpose higher.
The ground was wrong, good William died
His heirs gave not a whit.
All that was built of his great church
Was the Chapel (cheapest bit).
And down through time the Chapel’s fame
Throughout the world has grown.
For Masonic marvel, mystery, myth
It truly stands alone.
Its carvings rich and all obscure,
Give fantasies full flavour.
Whatever nonsense you believe
You’ll find some ‘proof’ to savour
But there’s one arch that makes you pause
And seek the truth within.
On one side, seven virtues carved
On th’other the opposite sin
It’s there you’ll find a puzzling fact.
Once seen, it’s hard to miss!
For Charity is in the sins.
In the virtues, Avarice.
There’s some that say a Mason drunk
Just got it awfully wrong.
But I believe there’s no mistake
And he meant it all along.
Just bear in mind that we are Jocks
Dour and mean in every way.
Giving hard-earned cash is no great joy
And keeping it’s OK.
Boadicea's Chariot 
It’s a winner.
Aye weel, LW. I’m not sure about that, given Janus’s excellent effort but at least I’m in with a fair chance of being runner-up as it stands at the moment.
A good New Year to you and yours.
Awesome. 🙂
“Aye weel, LW. I’m not sure about that, given Janus’s excellent effort but at least I’m in with a fair chance of being runner-up as it stands at the moment.”
🙂
Only you, Mr Mackie, could so skilfully turn a vice into a virtue; masterly! 🙂
Ara, a good New Year to you.
For the avoidance of doubt, there is very little that is not reasonably trueish in this pome, apart from my theory for the reason. The mason really did make a mess of it:-
‘The South aisle is similar to the North aisle but features some unique symbols and carvings. Some of the most interesting ones include the “seven virtues” and the “seven deadly sins”. According to the Rosslyn tour guide book, avarice and charity were reversed. Avarice was included in the seven virtues and charity in the seven sins, perhaps by mistake.’
I might have known, John!
Very interesting and your theory could well be correct.
A very Happy New Year to you too, John.
Arrers, ain’t that what lawyers often do? 🙂
Nice pome, John! I love your final stanza!
Brilliant poem, John, as it rhymes and scans perfectly. I don’t have a clue what it’s about though.
Before you start calling me Grasshopper again, a word of warning. Currently, I am in line for a bronze medal in this competition and, like Neil Armstrong, have a small step to take. You are farther up the podium and might need a hand climbing said podium.
Just testing