Whiteadder

Writer Kate Campbell has written a collection of poetry inspired by the area around the Whiteadder valley, some of which have been published.

‘I am the White Water.
And I will survive you.

I am the White Castle.
I watch the Water’s head
at a safe distance.

I am Kingside.
I lie in cloud by day
and moonshine at night,
awaiting a drought
to be seen again.

I am the pine at the Water.
Air streams through me.
I sway with it
and exit unscathed.

I am the larch.
I shed scraps of lichen
and small cones, then
the storm takes me.
I crack and crash.

I am the White Water.
And I will survive you.

Now I tear, rage
and toss whinstone
under three spans
at Ellemford.
Then I run quiet
deep in the cleugh.

I am the broch at the Law.
I see the kingfisher flash
and the rain, heavy,
drop circles on the Water.
Again.

I am fish.
I return to the Water in Spring
and sit in dark holes
looking out at night.

And I am Tweed. Alone,
I guide the Water
past willow and reeds,
four crossings
and sandbanks
down to the salt foam.

I am the White Water.
And I will survive you.’

© Kate Campbell 2020