The Woodcarver’s Tale

"I once saved Hitler",
the woodcarver said,
while shaping an adder
from a length of oak.

"I was Lord Twit’s ghillie
before the War. He brought
foreigners to fish and shoot.

It was a fine day on Loch Fada,
when a wee man fell overboard.
I pulled him in with my oar---
he was drookit, his moustache
clartit with pond scum.

He thanked my young wife
for our fire, soup and dram.
He scratched my collie’s ear
and left---a shy, polite man.

I learned his name later,
then lost my leg at Anzio.
Took up carving when my first wife died.

Strange, I carve snakes from dead wood,
but what evil hand
could mould such a serpent
from a living man?"

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