But

It's a bit of a strange theme. I've looked at various definitions of the word but (adpositions, adverbs, conjunctions, nouns) and I'm going with the Scottish noun meaning: an outer room, especially in a two-roomed cottage. The term 'but and ben' describes the basic design of a residential building plan, in this case a simple crofter's dwelling, in which the outer room, used as an antechamber or kitchen, is the but, while the inner room is the ben. The word but here derives from Early Scots/Middle English "bouten" or outside, and ben comes from "binnen" for inside.

a Highland crofter's 'but and ben'

And that's your meagre lot, but for a slight comic poem. The reason is I've written quite a few fairly lengthy blogs in recent weeks, so I'm reining it in this time. Think of the prose part as the 'but' and the poem as the 'ben'. In fact, that's as good a title as any...

Ben

Birthed in Cuil Dubh, black nook,

by half-moon light and his mother

didn't make it, marked down early

as a troubled child, dark in looks

and temperament, for what could

highland isolation offer that lad 

only the unearthing of badness?

McColl hated sheep and wool

and school except for football,

would spend his free hours out

on the heather moor, leathering

his prized possession, dreaming

of turning out for Tain Thistle or

even Ross County one day, knew

he had to get away. For some it's

boxing, but his feet did the talking,

for others the army, and he did get

murderous thoughts, though you'd

have to be barmy, wouldn't you?

even with a dirk down your sock.

So he kept on practising penalties

against that crofter's wall beneath

forbidding hills until a hiker spied 

him, a scout for Inverness Caley

on a summer break, the day that

changed Ben's life. Random fate.

A trial, youth terms first, in time

a regular in the league squad. He

soon grew into a weapon of a man,

became worth an extravagant fee.

Still has dark thoughts, still hates

sheep, keeps a dirk in his locker, 

lives in Spain these days, a legend. 

Hola! The fans call him El Asesino

and he's making a killing as a striker 

in La Liga with Real Sociopath.

Thanks for reading, S ;-)