Glenfinnan Viaduct

The steely sparkle

Holding the bricks prisoner,

The glue of the frost

Arches on arches

Like frowning eyebrows, rising

The hair on the dog

The living path of

Dragon’s breath in the night sky,

Forged in fire and steel

The great Roman hoops

Once pouring forth water, now

An adjunct to fire

The west train coming

Rattles down the Highland road,

To the sparkling sea

End of the Great Glen

The beginning of wisdom

For the righteous path

Echoes of blank eyes

Black gaps beneath the stonework,

Now they see the light

As city of Troy,

The towers of Ilium

To carry Helen

In the silent world,

The road preserved in hoarfrost

The train’s first whisper

Steam rising in snow

All along the watchtower,

Watching for the spring