The Bonnie Broukit Bairn
·The Bonnie Broukit Bairn is a mysterious poem. The mystery begins
with the title. Who is the bairn? Why is he/she 'broukit'?
Broukit has a wide range of meanings including dirty, sooty and
abandoned. We expect this to be a poem about a child. In fact, as
we soon discover, it is about our own planet, the Earth.
At first, the references to Mars and Venus might suggest that
they are about the Roman gods. They are gorgeously dressed.
Mars is wearing crimson cloth (the word 'crammasy' is from
Middle Scots and derives via French cramoisi from an Arabic word
for the insect whose crushed head yielded up the crimson dye).
Venus is in a green silk goun.
But the mention of the Moon lets us know that these are not
gods. They are planets. Mars is indeed red from oxides of iron
(rust) on its frigid, windy plains. Venus is in a gown because the
planet itself is shrouded in perpetual cloud that hides a burning
surface of volcanoes and flowing lava.
But the Moon is shakin her gowden feathers, as if it is some bird out
of ancient legend. So the double image of mythology and
contemporary astronomical fact is not lost.
Their talk is, however, of no worth. What is important is the
Earth, and they disregard the Earth- as, perhaps, we do too.
This is dangerous. Although the Earth is dirtyIsootyIabandoned
(take your pick), it can weep and cause a second Flood.
Is MacDiarmid hinting at the environmental damage, and its
consequences, which so affect us? Melting polar ice caps would
indeed cause a second Flood and some island states presently
inhabited (like the Maldives) will disappear within the next few
decades.
The poem can, therefore, be read as a work of striking
prophecy.