The Thistle

The thistle is a thorny thing, As thorny as a man can be; Yet in the flowers some nectar clings, And in the thorn some poetry.

A yearning for the distant sea Has come upon me in the night; I cannot see the light of day I listen for the music bright.

But it is not the waves I hear, It is only the thistle’s bane; And yet, I cannot but draw near To that which fills my heart with pain.

• John Shaw Neilson