Venerated Ruins

The Scottish Borders Abbeys
Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso, Jedburgh

Dryburgh Abbey 

Kelso Abbey

Serene in these ancient kirkyards
The ruins lie at rest
Testimony to their illustrious past
Historians will know best

Founded in the 12th Century
In King David’s reign
Scotland’s southern monasteries
Through all chance and change
Their mission was the same

Perpetual prayer and supplication
The Chapter and the Rule’s command
Hours of silence, simple tasks
The discipline demands

Despite the pursuit of such peace
The sanctuary oft disrupted
Warring factions, Border reives
Plunder and pillage their service interrupted

And now in modern times the silence reigns
Historic testimony their only proclamation
Mere venerated ruins with muted voice
Unheeded by our post-Christian nation

Ken Fisher