At the Opening of Parliament earlier this month our new Makar Liz Lochead’s poem ‘Open the Doors again’ saw her revisit, and reiterate much of ‘Open the Doors’ by Edwin Morgan, the poem she herself read at the Opening of Parliament in 1999. While it was a moving tribute to her predecessor, it was also a timely reminder of the message of what Scotland expected, and still expects, of her Parliament. Both poems are powerful and the advice they offer worth heeding.

The news that Morgan had left £1m to the SNP came as a surprise. Surprise not that he believed in Independence and that the SNP are the party to deliver it, nor at his generosity, rather surprise that poetry can make you a millionaire. It is profoundly moving to see a man of such intelligence, wit and foresight gifting such a large portion of his estate to the party and the cause. It must also stick in the craw of all those who take an inordinate amount of pleasure in insinuating that because the SNP received a donation from Brian Souter that we are a xeno-, homo-, and anglo-phobic party, because, after all isn’t that the just the nature of Nationalism? Do they really think that Edwin Morgan would have donated £1,000,000 to that sort of Nationalist party? How do they square that circle? Any ideas please comment below.
There was some talk of erecting a statue of Morgan in Glasgow’s West End. That would certainly be a refreshing contrast to the horse fondling Imperialists and dour faced Slave Traders which pox our towns and cities. When it comes to statues we could learn a lot from Dublin. However, better than building just a statue let us work together to build a New Scotland of which Edwin Morgan would be proud. Then we can say, in a Latin harsh with Aramaicisms, “Si monumentum requiris, circumspice”. If you seek his monument, look around you.