A new poem by Tom Scott
Read by James McKechnie
The Paschal Candill is a poem in twelve parts, each corresponding to some part of the Holy Saturday Mass and the Easter mysteries. It might be described as a debate between the events of the mass (the preparation of the candle, the prophecies and litanies, culminating in the Eucharist) and the writer's own consciousness. The latter is dominated by the thoughts of a man returning to Scotland after fourteen years of exile who rediscovers a part at least of the Scottish tradition. This he considers to be the tradition of St. Columba, the spiritual father of Scotland, rather than that of William Wallace. T.S.