An upturned telescope,
central and monumental,
on Calton Hill
     transmutes
at the turn of an era
     into a lighthouse
whose bright beam of light,
     focusing outward1
through a bank of lenses,
shines above deep foundations,
     a kind of starlight2,
with lights guiding
     and aiding safe navigation,
     lights also warning of
unseen dangers
beneath the surface
of life
in city streets,
     on Scotland's seas,
in the Highlands,
     the islands,
villages, towns
     work places,
     open spaces and homes,
warning of hazards in the water,
     of threats in the ether and
     risks beyond these shores,
in these new lights of
     seven colours of the rainbow
for seven days and nights of the week,
with light painting also by degrees
     the time ball
the sphere set high
     which rises and falls
marking the middle of each day

in time with the boom of the
     one o'clock gun
rolling downhill
from the castle ramparts
     to the water's edge
& under the clockwork globe
     the rainbow beam
swoops round the source
     setting every edifice in proper lights3 ,
casting an arch of promise
     beneath which
the work of a new parliament is done,
under the glow of the hill
where for years
the lightkeepers
     held their vigil4
beckoning this sea change
holding tight for a
people coming together
with multiple angles
of incidence
     angles of refraction,
reflection
     & ultimate emergence
until we are ready
to rebeam
     into the blue
all colours
all people
of all ages,
in all areas
     concentrated into the white beams
that cross confidently
into the bright blue sky for Scotland.