The art of indifference is not fair.
I tried to stand apart but quickly found
there's no great gain in learning not to care.

Cold lovers told me only lust is shared,
I held a knowing sneer around my mouth.
The art of indifference is not fair.

The injured heart retreats within its lair,
I took my love and dragged it underground.
There's no great gain in learning not to care.

Should I accept this comfort of despair,
this blanket I could draw around me now?
The art of indifference is not fair.

I could, but then I'd rather run and dare,
no carapace of fear to hold me down.
There's no great gain in learning not to care.

The painless forms of love are very rare,
I'll dance the dance of life and dance it round.
The art of indifference is not fair,
there's no great gain in learning not to care.

Uisge Beatha

She empties her glass and catches my eye,
clasps me by the neck to draw down my head.
Her whisky kiss. Her leg across my thigh.
This, now, against the certainty of death.

^

Biography

Robert Davidson, living in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland. Author of "The Bird & The Monkey" (Highland Printmakers 1996), "Total Immersion" (Scottish Cultural Press 1998). Edited "After the Watergaw" (Scottish Cultural Press 1998), a collection of Scottish poems based on water (royalties to WaterAid). Reviews Editor Northwords magazine. Presently contributing a series of essays on Highland Writers to Scottish Book Collector.