Jock Thomson's Bairns poem

--by patjos, posted Jun 29, 2025

Anyone familiar with the saying "We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns."? Maybe you have a similar saying in your country?

I was writing a poem which took a differnet direction and ended up like this:

We are all Jock Thomson’s bairns,
born under the same soft stars,
just trying to keep a light on
in the dark.

We are all - just all of us,
clothed in different wounds,
fighting different storms,
and likewise different demons.

Stranger, neighbour, refugee,
rich man, poor man, beggar man, me.
Mothers, sisters, all the colours,
lovers, haters, still my brothers.

One danced at his daughter’s wedding,
another grew up husband-dreading.
One wept for joy at first son’s birth,
while this one feels they have no worth.

We are all Jock Thomson’s bairns,
born under the same old moon,
here for a fleeting moment
- then away.

We are all - just all of us.
Each a reflection,
mirroring the other
deep inside.

Tinker, tailor - come and see:
all your lives reflect in me,
each a line in an epic story
of unsung heroes, quiet glory.

btw, you can look up the phrase on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_Tamson%27s_bairns

41 Reads

Posted by patjos
Jun 29, 2025
Comments (9)

Readers Comments

Mish wrote: Wow, your Muse is alive & well, Patrick!!! 👏🏻. And yes, we are all the same indeed.

pluto178 wrote: My goodness me I kept thinking I was wrong that you hadn’t written it just listed it but no its all yours and its not just good its outstanding ……well done. X

janfour wrote: Great!!!

mindyjourney wrote: Oh, patrick! A beautiful expression of every-man and our connections 💕! Thank you!!!!!!! Have you your own youtube channel where you are keeping these? :)))) 🕊️ 💪.

dotmatrix wrote: Thanks for the introduction to that whimsical, historical phrase. I like your poem very much. Tha e fìor. Tha sinn uile mar an ceudna fon chraiceann. ♥

kmbhai wrote: Thanks..

Helenconnell2 wrote: Thanks for sharing such a beautiful poem from your heart.

DANCE wrote: I liked it very much, thanks for sharing

TC wrote: Thank you.

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