Davie Gogie's Plea

When I moved to the woods
I hollowed a shelter,
I lined it with branches
And topped it with turf.
I packed the clay tightly,
Lagged moss all around,
Spread straw on the floor,
And bed on the earth

In towns all about
People miscalled me;
‘Wild Man of the Woods’,
A beggar, or thief.
My name’s Davie Gogie,
I lost all my family,
But, I never took anything,
That didn’t come free.

When apples start falling,
When chickens roam,
When they lay their eggs,
Out of sight of the farm,
A man has to take
What Nature is giving.
I don’t own a gun,
So, where is the harm?

I’ve not seen a barber
Since ‘round 1890.
My hair’s long and matted.
My clothes are torn.
When folk came I hid
From their little black boxes.
The lens only looked for
A vagrant, forlorn.

They captured me anyway
Before I could move
To the wood of Mouteagle
Or back down to Bogbain.
They stood me in court
And the magistrate charged me.
Then off to the Poorhouse.
They had me restrained.

In my humble opinion
The Union Poorhouse,
Should be reserved
For the poor alone!
My life abounds
In the woods of Calrossie
My bed’s on the earth
And I want to go home!

My name’s Davie Gogie,
Wild Man of the Woods,
Your Poorhouse is giving
But its not free.
I’ll surely die
If I don’t get away
From the haunts of men.
So, I beg you, Sir, please…

Take me back to the trees.
Where I hollowed a shelter,
Where I lined it with branches
And topped it with turf.
Where I packed the clay tightly,
Lagged moss all around,
Where the straw's on the floor,
And, my bed's on God's earth.

Okay so its just a draft and I'll get back to it! Hazy Dizzylady