The Tattie-bogle
Poem, ballad verse
I am currently working on a commission for my sister. She asked for a poem about my niece. It has turned into something that neither of us expected, a sort of toddler’s fantasy epic. I hope to post all of it when it is finished, or maybe just bits and pieces of it like this. Or maybe, if my sister does some illustrations, we’ll turn it into something publishable and I’ll be able to post a link to Amazon or something.
Anyways, Tattie-bogle is Scots for “scarecrow”. Tattie means potato and -bogle means goblin, I think. I’m not sure what the connection is to a scarecrow, but I think the idea of a daddy-long-legs looking like a “potato goblin” is hilarious.
In my poem, Tattie-bogle is a benevolent character. He is the thegn of the spider folk and saves my niece when she gets in trouble with them. What follows is an excerpt:
The Tattie-bogle stands on stilts,
And shepherds spiderlings.
He is the kindest king that guards
The world of smallest things.
A harvestman is civilized,
He chews like people do.
The jawless spider only sucks,
And spitefully bites too.
The Tattie-bogle never harms
Mankind in any way.
In gardens, sheds, or undercouch,
He’s granted an entrée.
This longish lord keeps many friends,
And lives politic’ly.
Whereas the bachelor spider keeps
His home most squalidly.
The Tattie-bogle is good luck,
As any child knows.
He stands for decent, noble bugs.
A lightness in shadows.