Two Men at Once

by Norman MacCaig

In the Culag Bar a fiddler is playing
Fast-rippling tunes with easy dexterity.

How do I know? I'm in Edinburgh.

On the pier, sun scorched tourists
Hang their bellies over improbable shorts.

How do I know? I'm in Edinburgh.

In the Vayatie burn a man
Hooks a trout. It starts rampaging.

And I'm in Edinburgh.

Or so I say. How easy to be
Two men at once.

One smiling and drinking coffee
In Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.

The other cutting the pack of memories
And turning up ace after ace after ace.