SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 754 Title : Temples Fae Creels Author(s): Andrew McNeil Copyright holder(s): Andrew McNeil: With thanks to Kettillonia. Text Visitin Ainster Gey slippery in the Dreel Burn. A crabbit wifie maks her wey across; Sodden claes on anither dreich day. That's the picters in ma heid Conjured up fae the pub plaque ootside. Yon wifie had cairrit a Royal, A Stewart, ane o their kings. Whaur ma journey, the real ane Stertit wis by thae burns, By shore ledges an rocks, Feelin the raw spuckle On Johnny Dool's Pulpit. In scuil we done "Explorers" - Amundsen, Scott an Cook. But we got droukit aw the same Inside an oot fae waves batterin The walls on the shore an beyond. An doun the street men Grieved in cloth caps aboot Silver Darlins now gone. An noo whaur are thae? The Regal Amang waves tae split Atlas A mairched on Rome Defeated Napoleon Took refuge wi Swiss Family Robinson. The Regal cinema Jist a skimmer awa fae the sea Wis a hangar loadit wi planes Aff tae the ootside an history. Homer, the Aeneid, Auld Reekie Wir, as yet, mony Dimensions awa. January Oor hoose on Shore road Wis aye spuckled in spray Fae waves that ripped san Aff protective rock ledges. Reek trails fae the Lothian side Wid hing aboot Cockenzie The power station Opposite Fife's beach mantle; Ony windae wis guid. January wis special - waves Slammin intae the harbour waas Muckle white flares hingin Afore rainin doun: January ragin. Races Richt next tae the slipway We ran, waves lickin at oor feet If Neptune threw a wobbly: Yon seventh wave wis on its wey. Deceptive it wis: Blankets o wet fadin When IT wid arrive, Aw white froth an helpless stanes. Behind wis a sheer wall, No scarred wi clawin hands O bairns: the despair o their folk, Greetin the cauld thrill o sodden feet Wi shouts o delighted grief. October Each ane - Thon howkin oot the sile: The "Tattie Holidays". Up fae Ainster, Roun the back o Pittenweem, Splittin yer spine - Get the piece done, Pit doun tae fiery glaur hell The birlin tractor Layin intae its laps. Echteen year fae it Only the gulls, The soople mulk-lik glaur Stauns oot. We wir aff, Strainin each moment fer decades, Raxin oot o the East Neuk, Skiffin the Fower Winds. The Pool The auld ootside swimmin-pool Absurd next tae muckle sanstane boilins, Survivors o mony storms an gales. Its watter, Sic wondrous dark brouns; Velveteen glory O the colours metres beyond the surface; Bladder wrack, seaweeds aw In motion yet gless on the tap. Bodies flat, We wid be human divin-boards - The real anes long gone - Starin intae it beyond oorsels. Wi orange lines an braw roun lead weights Huntin began. Greenies, shore crabs gluttons fer limpets Soukin the life oot o shell-less bodies, Legs scuttlin in the air: Hooked. Aince, bairn met forebear. Feart an dumb wi bluid churnin, Action fae instinct; The conger itsel a young ane Bent, whipped, thrashed on the waa, Twa o us swallied by its een; Hooked oorsels, Baith fisher an fish released; Escape, unmarked but bloodied. Scuil library: Those clock hands draggin A hand tae Gunn's "Highland River": Discovery - a master oot fer the hunt. Jenny DINNA GANG NEAR HER SHE'S MINGIN. A stuid mair guilty than innocent. Her heid dipped, spirit stoned Unner oor wirds. Scuil, ma scuil A haill generation awa. She wid rin intae her close, A refuge fae bullets O fear an spite Aw fae her ain freens. Aye. We aw saw the strangers, Suits an briefcases, Cam oot wi her wee brither. Doun the Gyles Wee swaws pulsin up Tae a steep sandy slope, A braw platform fer launchin Shore-cured sanstanes. Plish-plash skimmers Fracturin white-crested waves That instantly sealed again. Lik oor name-cawin The stanes wid lie heavy unner watter, Cairns spreid oot Like the misery in her een, Magnified an deep. Fires Lik horizontal cannles The electric bars o ma Gran's fire warmed us. Her wee flet had a windae in the waa. She wid open the hatch an gie us the news: On tip-toe, staunin on the bottom stair step Peer in - Nae twa dugs on the shelf, awthin else Ornaments, china flooers an the yella seat covers: Her weys o trackin hersel fae Renfrew tae the East Neuk. Illness an cancer - Twa bastards that mak deith's shores Nae fremmit lan. Granfaither deed first: Huntington's Chorea, His jaw aften lik a meltit sick typewriter gaun back an forth. Annie: Gran wis neist. Returnin fae the Kirkcaldy hospital On the bed Still Lang, hivvie breaths sang intae oblivion. Ane o the images that run is the crabs; Twa partans cookin. She kent - Kent aboot creels ayont the sea waa, Ma spring-tide piracy - Weel-haundit wi her scoldin. Short-ersed, twa-leggit, She'd seen me fae her windae Facin Ainster harbour, Rings on the cooker glowin, Watchin. Scramble Chalmers Kirk is no there - Either as lanmerk or place tae worship in. Sumhoo whit wis a wee toun's focus, Its een's cathedral, is nae mair. Fowk's faith wis as certain As the rauchled skin Each bitin winter wind wid kiss Ony year the fish still cam. Ma time - Lik dementit wee shore crabs We scramblit fer siller Efter the Reverend Crawford Had mairrit them. Thon wis an age E'en afore a stranger Spat oot nae such thing as society. A wid mak her a liar yet. Mary fae Burntisland Mary Somerville, mathematicien, astronomer, classicist, 1780-1872 It wull ivver be thus (Cum bio-chips in heids or genetic enhancement): Ee o the individual Spyin life-creation, The shiver-reek o jist bein Reels baith spirit an intellect. "Didna aye gang tae the Kirk When she gaed up the Kirkgate", But ye wir near eneuch On san, fuit soakin A see yersel - Ocean breaths Maun mak ye stert. No fer wumman Aw thon learnin; Whaur the minds o men fail Sea an land tak ower. Leids The sign in the country park Says tod an whaup are dialect Wirds fer fox an curlew; Gey queer whan baith birl roun Tung an mooth ootside the waas. Fleein ower the Net A mixter-maxter o tungs meld. Be cannie: Dinna lose Whan awthin micht be gained. The Memorial Room A kent the jiners that built it. Sich care taken wi saw an haimmer. Last cam velvet blue curtains Sae dark next tae the plaques, Sma brass plates fer boats lost. Buckie, Aiberdeen, Peterheid. Individuals, partners, faimlies, Their kin, cam tae sign the buik Unnoticed by tourists puzzled By non-interactive models o herrin boats Or gutters, clooties wrapped loosely roun Their dummy fingers... Each faimly had their ain weys O makkin their young strang In ports north or sooth. Noo the lassies hae unreal smiles; They wear layers o claes fer the cauld Unable tae stap saut gettin intae cuts, Their pain measured in thoosans O guttit fish. Messages Her step lik the leid o the damned, Raincoat a deid-skin tone Bland as thae lamps o flesh Deep doun in a Berlin bunker. She is awa tae the shop wi a line, Her bocht goods intae the credit buik; Margaret ahint scrievin it in, Curtains o sorrow flickerin ower her een. Aince a week mibbe Her or her sister gang past, Plastic bags sae hivvie, Baith airms torture-straicht. "Faither raped thaim - baith o them." Unremarkable it wis, this comment: Wirds tummelt oot amang the hubbub O bairns neivefu wi chocolate, A queue as lang as yer airm. It wis said, then A went. She is twal yairds doun The brae. Fer winter - a heid scarf; Snawflakes para-glidiin in tae blanket. It is judged jist richt: Up fer messages then gey cannie on the return, In afore ye really micht git hurt. Thon ice is treacherous. Flet The damp is pairt o it Settin her aff Throat tearin retchin Wi no a drap cummin oot. Haudin yer ain breath Willin lungs fou o oxygen Mindin whit the G.P. said: Her machine fae the hospital Due back. We ken we're lucky like We dinna hae the growk O bairns missin food. Folk visit. Cosy flet they say. Toys plan the break-oot Massed in the waa. In a crowded corner The telly sells ma car The ane A dinna hae Wi sex an status. Watchin as mair "national" news cums on We aye hope it's a guid nicht - Less coughin Her wee body at peace. Bedouin Bairns On St Andrews beach Wisps o rattlesnake san Draws oor child tae chase the air. Unner fuit A rummlin is felt - The Links an dunes split open; Muckle splayed wrists o earth Grin. Doun gangs hotels, greens an clubhooses. A shin bane is left staunin Lik a razor shell on the shore An an ancient cathedral pilgrim's Wish Is noo oors tae share. Retiral Sae money echoes As she rouns on hersel, Last luik in on twenty-five years; Her haun grasps it, A muckle caird done oot in felt-tip "To the best teacher". Nivver-endin oceans O paper, Meetins wi Heidies; Noo tap line-manager. Real juice o it Whan ye made a contact: Theirsels bein an growin. Tungs Whaur dae yer wirds cum fae? Asks ma faither wha isnae. Adoptit in Georgia, Brocht back, Gien this tung, splint Fer the spine - bein The real sel - me. Genes - Irish, Cheyenne An German - They are pairt spittle. Only noo A ken it. Whit did mak me haill - Bairns an bigger bairns: Ainster's fowk - Wirds fillin eneuch neuks Tae cram the Peace Palace. Autumn Fife's autumnal skin-leopard Has breathed an raxed Its lang spine. The fields o cut stubble Pierce cauld December air, Heuch, wuid, lost dubs Are threatened by Lan souchin. Neist tae it A'm ane o a few Warm in oor metal boxes Lickin wet tarmac; Licht gies transient shimmers, Preein the muckle constants. 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 Adults (18+): General public: Audience size: 100+ Text details Method of composition: Handwritten Year of composition: 1996 Word count: 1663 Text medium Magazine (e-zine): Newspaper: Web (webpages, discussion boards, newsgroups, chat rooms): Text publication details Published: Publisher: Kettillonia Publication year: 1999 Place of publication: Glenrothes ISBN/ISSN: 190294402X Edition: 1st Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 408 Forenames: Andrew Surname: McNeil Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1960 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 18 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism/agnosticism/animism Occupation: Teacher Place of birth: Toledo Region of birth: Ohio Country of birth: USA Place of residence: Dunfermline Country of residence: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Work, holiday, family Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work and at home