K... is for Keats

I don't have much for K, but I'll leave you with a poem by Keats.
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A Galloway Song

Ah! ken ye what I met the day
Out oure the Mountains
A coming down by craggi[e]s grey
An mossie fountains --
A[h] goud hair'd Marie yeve I pray
Ane minute's guessing --
For that I met upon the way
Is past expressing.
As I stood where a rocky brig
A torrent crosses
I spied upon a misty rig
A troup o' Horses --
And as they trotted down the glen
I sped to meet them
To see if I might know the Men
To stop and greet them.
First Willie on his sleek mare came
At canting gallop --
His long hair rustled like a flame
On board a shallop.
Then came his brother Rab and then
Young Peggy's Mither
And Peggy too -- adown the glen
They went togither --
I saw her wrappit in her hood
Fra wind and raining --
Her cheek was flush wi' timid blood
'Twixt growth and waning --
She turn'd her dazed head full oft
For there her Brithers
Came riding with her Bridegroom soft
And mony ithers.
Young Tam came up an' eyed me quick
With reddened cheek --
Braw Tam was daffed like a chick --
He coud na speak --
Ah Marie they are all gane hame
Through blustering weather
An' every heart is full on flame
Ah! Marie they are all gone hame
Fra happy wedding,
Whilst I -- Ah is it not a shame?
Sad tears am shedding.

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This is the eleventh post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling

K... is for Kirk!

Kirk is the Scottish word for Church, and oh my, do they build them well here! As part of tourism, various volunteering activities, and just being poor because I'm a student, I've been to a lot of kirks here. Usually, they would have been built by one king or another queen, either for their own private prayers or as part of a celebration/coronation.
For example, St. Margaret's Chapel, which was probably a personal prayer house, is the oldest surviving structure in Edinburgh, having been built in the 12th century. On the other hand, built during the same period is the massive 'High Kirk of Edinburgh' or St. Giles' Cathedral. It was primarily built for public use and is also called the 'Mother Church of Presbyterianism'.
I've been to both... and while I've been to some other too, these two, visited within two weeks of one another brought out some stark similarities; the damp cold stones, the beautifully carved/painted ceiling, the quiet that is mildly perturbed by the whispers of centuries, the altar... very very imposing facades that house God in all his marvellous glory. I'm not religious at all, but because I went to a convent Catholic followed by a missionary Methodist school, I had my fair share of Jesus storied drilled into me.
Visiting kirks is, thus, a beautiful way to spend an afternoon here.

Stained Glass - St. Giles'

Ceiling - St. Giles'

Chapel at my school - it was a beautiful building wasted on a terrible school.

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats.