FROM TROUSERS TO A KILT…

Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Palace Too,

Walking Along These Scottish Streets and Darken Avenues. 

We Are Up in Wee Scotland,

Where There are Plenty of Things to Do, 

Discovering Unique Places,

That Are Hidden Out of View.

Mary King’s Close is a Place with History,

That Takes You Back in Time to The 17th Century. 

Hidden Underground with Smells of Death and Despair,

Every House, Every Shop Their Roofs Chopped Off,

And Now Beyond Repair.

Walking The Street of The Royal Mile,

Two Prominent Places that Both have Style. 

At One End Holyroodhouse a Palace with History,

A Home for Historic Figures,

Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

A Great Gallery of Portraits so Much to Consume.

But Take a Look Closer and You will Find, 

Marks on Some Paintings that were Left Behind.

There are Sword Marks from The Battle of Falkirk,

Where Government Troops just went Plain Berserk.

111 Portraits only 95 Survived,

Kings and One Queen All in this Archive.

At Other End Of The Street,

A Place Up High and Very Steep.

Looking Over Like a Watchful Eye,

Protecting Its City From Years Gone By.

With 26 Sieges in its History,

A Prison, Fortress and Treasury.

Edinburgh Castle has Many Stories to Tell,

A Place for Living and Sometimes Hell.

This Castle was Built On Volcanic Rock in The 11th Century,

Playing a Prominent Role That Is Set In Stone In Scottish History.

From The Wars of Independence in The 14th Century,

Where Scotland Fought The English For Independency.

To The Jacobite's Rising in 1745, 

Fighting For The Throne With Honour and Pride.

Many Battles Lost and Won,

Hidden Stories of This Castle Will Still Linger On.

But Take Time Out For a Tradition That Has Become,

A Daily Routine Called The One O’Clock Gun,

Dating Back to 1861 The Firing of a Cannon Has Now Just Begun.

Spreading it’s Noise Across The City, 

And Reaching Out To The Ships in The Sea.

Time Has Moved on for The One O’Clock Gun,

But The Firing From The Castle Will Still Carry On.

The Changing Of The Gunner and Artillery Too,

But The Sound Will Still Echo For The Scottish White and Blue.

A Construction of a Bridge Began in 1882,

Scotland's Future Symbol Along with The Thistle.

Built by Boys and Men Known as The Briggers to Complete, 

Working All Through The Day and Night Not Admitting to Defeat.

At a Cost Lives Were Lost a Total of 73,

But Seven Years Later The Forth Bridge Was Finished in 1890.

Another Proud Moment For Scotland's People,

And Future Generations Too, 

Flying The Flag to All The World,

Of The Scottish White and Blue.

The Sounds Of Scotland Take To The Air,

Music With Passion Somewhere Out There.

Walking The Streets There Are Tunes All Around,

From Different Directions to this Scottish Sound.

From Trousers To A Kilt We Finally See,

A Man Playing Bagpipes Who is Showing His Knees.

Edinburgh The Capital So Many Things To Do,

As The Man Continues Playing,

For The Scottish White and Blue.

With Old Buildings To See and Cobblestones To Walk, 

Don’t You Wish Sometimes That They Could Talk?

With Hills To Climb and Views To See, 

Arthur's Seat is The Place You Would Want To Be.

Scotland's Heritage Looking Right in Front of You,

The Capital City of The Scottish White And Blue.

© Gary Sydney Hankins…01/10/2024