It’s the start of week 4 of home-schooling chez Kane, and given tonight’s Burns’ Night, I thought I’d introduce the kids (and, to be honest, me) to Scotland’s National Poet before we all stuff our faces with haggis (one veggie and one traditional) this evening.

After watching a quick intro to Burns made for tourists, we listened to ‘To A Mouse’ as that turned up first on Google. I hadn’t realised that its theme was the disconnect between man and nature, inspired by an incident where he accidentally ploughed up a mouse nest when working in the fields.

The second stanza particularly spoke to me:

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An’ fellow-mortal!

Poetry has never been my thing, but between this and eldest child looking at Kipling’s ‘If’ a couple of weeks ago, I think I’m starting to get it.