> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Trio
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/trio-4216jsp/
- Published: 2006-12-22T00:12:00.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:55:00.000Z
- Author: Edwin Morgan
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 19:37

Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening

a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lights -

The young man carries a new guitar in his arms,

the girl on the inside carries a very young baby,

and the girl on the outside carries a chihuahua.

And the three of them are laughing, their breath rises

in a cloud of happiness, and as they pass

the boy says, "Wait till he sees this but!"

The chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat like a teapot-

holder,

the baby in its white shawl is all bright eyes and mouth like

favours in a fresh sweet cake,

the guitar swells out under its milky plastic cover, tied at the neck

with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe.

Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!

The vale of tears is powerless before you.

Whether Christ is born, or is not born, you

put paid to fate, it abdicates

under the Christmas lights.

Monsters of the year

go blank, are scattered back,

can't bear this march of three.

And the three have passed, vanished in the crowd

(yet not vanished, for in their arms they wind

the life of men and beasts, and music,

laughter ringing them round like a guard)

at the end of this winter's day  

**Edwin Morgan** is a Scottish [poet](http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=1682&ref=opendemocracy.net). He served as Glasgow's first poet laureate from 1999–2002\. In February 2004 he was appointed Scots *Makar*, in effect poet laureate for Scotland. His *Collected Poems* was published in 1990, and *Collected Translations* in 1996\. In 1997 he received the Hungarian Order of Merit for his translations of Hungarian poetry.

Edwin Morgan's poetry is published by [Carcanet](http://www.carcanet.co.uk/?ref=opendemocracy.net) and [Mariscat Press](http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/llpp/mariscat.html?ref=opendemocracy.net)

Edwin Morgan's website is [here](http://www.edwinmorgan.com/?ref=opendemocracy.net)

His poem written for the opening of the Scottish parliament in 2004 is [here](http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/events/holyroodOpening/edwinMorgan.htm?ref=opendemocracy.net)

A celebration of Edwin Morgan by his city on his 85th birthday is [here](http://www.edwinmorgan.com/news%5Fem85thbirthday%5F1.html?ref=opendemocracy.net)

Also in openDemocracy, several of Edwin Morgan's translations from Hungarian poetry are [here](https://www.opendemocracy.net/arts-Literature/hungarian%5Fpoems%5F2810.jsp)

**openDemocracy** previously published two of Edwin Morgan's poems – "An Iraqi student" and "The Computer's First Christmas Card" – by kind permission of his publishers [Carcanet](http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9780856353659&ref=opendemocracy.net). After a certain period, these were – as *Trio* will be - returned to the copyright holder