Rab Wilson salutes James Hogg (1770-1835), the Ettrick Shepherd and author of Confessions of a Justified Sinner.
The Hogg Monument sits near Tibbie Shiel's Inn in the Yarrow Valley, between Moffat and Selkirk. The statue of Hogg holds in its left hand a scroll on which is etched the last line from his major poem, The Queen's Wake - used here in the last line of the sonnet.
THE HOGG MONUMENT
Oan a plinth, the fuit o Chapelhope Hill,
The Shepherd sits an views the braes o hame,
This statue biggit tae his fawmous nem,
Richtly celebrates poetic skill.
Ae haund hauds the cruik that kept ye siccar,
Fordin burns in spate at lambin time,
Body waarmly hapt in plaid o rhyme,
Yer ettle aye tae be 'Jamie the Poeter'.
Abune the hills o Blackhope ye'd be foun,
Blauds in haund whiles wi its stoppered neck,
The wee bit jaur o praicious ink ye'd reck,
Tae scrieve the lines ye howpt micht bring renown.
James Hogg, the shepherd lad, whaes nem still rings,
Etched here: "He taught the wandering winds to sing."
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