Alan of Balnakeil

All grain, all texture,
all tree-ring – this woodman
of nature, of the north.
This wooden man.

This wondrous man
whose every word grows
ready carved into some beauty
set out before me.

And his memory composed
of all the carvings done before
he stood in Durness light
to greet me.

And his body composed
of every object brought forth
from the wood he chose
to alter and fashion.

And his manner composed
of the woodland his spirit
flies in; his spirit the cellulose
his soul resides in.

Carver of wood, by wood carved
into the image before me.