SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 259 Title : The Immigrant Author(s): Anna Blair Copyright holder(s): Anna Blair Text There were ghettos and pogroms in East Europe then And few Jew-folk like us could ignore The objections rejections and utter despair And the fear of the Knock on the Door. But the Jewish are born with the will to survive And the young turned their hopes on the West A last look at our 'heyzar' we hoisted our bags Bowed our heads to the old to be blessed. Sick and cramped on the boat I still struggled to dream Of the States, Eldorado-New York But the place we arrived was a base on the Clyde And we scrambled ashore on the dock. I looked at the black maws of alley and close The warrens of tenements grey, But I jibbed at the dread of the ocean ahead And decided forlornly to stay. I lodged near the quay in this new Promised Land, Schipka Pass at the edge of the Green Moved in-there with some Yiddish-spoke immigrant Jews Wi' Pa's watch and my new gaberdine. That night I saw fire like a funeral pyre And I minded some old homeland phrases, Such like 'burning your boats' 'setting fire to wild oats'. Lord God's promise that night...Dixons' Blazes. My strangeness was shed as the weeks turned to months And my thoughts grew less vivid of Poland As the Mommas about, gave me wurst and sauerkraut, And my regular Shabbos-Day cholent. A tobacco place first, then I set myself up In a basement in Hospital Street And I toiled and I moiled all the hours that God sent Checking invoice and stock and receipt. My wee soft-goods company prospered and grew And I wed with the young Rachel Ascheri. My Rachel had style and a wonderful smile And a flair for wholesale haberdashery. From being poor and alone in that Gorbals back-street, Now I'm fourscore and head of a clan, For Rachel with flair for more than software Bore three girls, then Josh, Nathan and Dan. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience General public: Audience size: 1 Text details Method of composition: Handwritten Year of composition: 1998 Word count: 335 Text setting Leisure/entertainment: Private/personal: Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 127 Forenames: Anna Surname: Blair Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1920 Educational attainment: College Age left school: 17 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Teacher/author Place of birth: Giffnock Region of birth: Glasgow Birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Business Father's place of birth: Glasgow Father's region of birth: Glasgow Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Business Mother's place of birth: Glasgow Mother's region of birth: Glasgow Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Visits to France, correspondence Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: