SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 755 Title : Sanstane an Steel Author(s): Andrew McNeil Copyright holder(s): Andrew McNeil Text SPRING TIDES Continents tae explore, Glacial smooth sand invitin ye, Ye're wary as ye leave land faur ahint, Creels noo exposed, transportit, Haudin fast the captured sea cod Or e'en young conger. I clamber ower haill couters o taangle, Mindin the vices on fingers fae partans, Aye feart the planet wull revert, Disappear unner water. I touch surfaces, een reflectit Reaching ayont masel The iron cleek howkin oot debris. Aye destruction when the twa-leggit Returns. PRAM RIDES Siller hips lik western holsters Thon auld prams wid wheel The aboot-tae-be mairrit. Paradit roun Ainster Maukit in chocolate an treacle Passin the whale jaw banes Elemental rites fae the Atlantic. Whaur afore faimlies hid Ain patterns on fishin jumpers Makkit tae defeat winds Threatin tae empty Fifies o mankind Noo ither rituals. Through it aw The May A ticht drawn chalk fist On the horizon - Cumin intae view As they pass ower the Dreel The burn suppin lazily roun Steppin Stanes Jinin the incumin sea. HAME Every twa year cum hame: As lang as she cuin dae this They'll be happy in the States. Pop ower fae America Whar awthin is bigger Aye! Standart o life is better. Staunin thair it blinds me What kin o life? Whase standarts? She'll no see the young growe Deid - claes in her min will cover The thoosand weys they an aw us Gang forrit: Personal, local an national daeins soak us Mony ettlin fer better days aheid Especially noo. Yon red squirrel I seen speed across the Muchty road, A nip o fragile broon beauty framed Bi the Lomonds - twin baps in ever changin licht They ur lost tae her. The faimly walk doun the High Street Ignorin the exhibition poster Fae Agricola tae Chatelard unner Queen Mary's bed Sex an deith hae starrin roles in braw waa panels. Danderin on fitsteps echo Unseen up a close, souns like spirits tappin No shair o the wey. TIMEKEEPIN "Ye telt us fower o'clock." "The bus would arrive at three thirty at the latest." "I ken but the letter said somethin aboot fower..." "We've had them back for twenty minutes." Granfaither an teacher: The ane, finger still rock-calloused. Lang since idle fae wark in a Fife mine; Th'ither, fantoosh as his Apple Mac Whaur yon note fer thair trip wis ran aff, Reflections o cooncil hooses Temporary fer near fifty year noo No seen throu his windae. The hill ahint the schule luiks like the Bastille - Heavy, earthen-haunched, Barefit ledges oot fae gorse-skirts - An open-moothed winter stare. He leaves thankin the heidmaister, Five bairns o various heichts skirl aroon Cries held fer a second In the late November air. FISH SELLER Parasols next tae a nicely bricked Vomitarium jist alang fae Asda: Some o the sichts on the road tae work. Noo an again on the same road I pass it - cyberspace graphic fish Fleein past ma car. A new look fer the Pittenweem fish van. I can mind the fish barra, Its minder tall an sharp-jawed, Bonnet placed on his heid, Pushed alang oor road Painted green yon ancient green: Jist like ma Gran's back door, The ane I wid hing on Listenin - Raspin, dyin breaths, Ma mooth half-imitatin. Restin ma palms on her window-sill. THE MAY The blue his a spirit o its ain Lappin aff the white cliffs Seen fae Ainster lik cloods. Awthin is paced oot fer human feet Frae larach tae cliff tae the beach; Fowk sharin the island wi rock an gull. Gien sum maumie winds A sun makin gannets hyter on ledges Thon group maun be takin a hairst A hairst sae deep rootit in the first element. Yon chiels ur the diggers fer banes No the monks an invaders o yestereen. They mibbe dinna ken the saut The yammerin fae shore an sky steys Steys, steys an rests: Eneuch tae defeat granite Thrumple marble Seep throu steel. TARMAC The 1976 heatwave A glorious summer. Lyin on liquorice Five o uz bathe in a gowden Licht - the sea Licks sanstane doun Yonder at the Gyles. Universes, countries Empires Dissolve amang the haze. Back an re-baptised We mak wattery second sels. DINNA KEN Dinna ken whaur this itch comes fae - Sae sair sometimes I cuid mak A conger eel weep. Shivereens of infancy. Micht be 1967. There I am a wee nyaff, Wi a Yankee accent. Like ma whelkin days, Heave some muckle rocks deep. (I'm nae Scots Pegasus enabler.) I hae tae splash aroon. Sae whit aboot this itch? Lookin deep intae the pool I see twa selves, Ane at ease on shores Deep in massacred kelp an tangle, The ither far awa, beyond The May Island, Whaur noo they dig fer the past, Satisfyin oor itch in the present. 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: 811 Text medium Book: 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