Document 337
St Ninian's Isle
Author(s): Christine De Luca
Copyright holder(s): Christine De Luca
Options:
Highlight word:
Text
at cared aboot da sowls o Pictish fisherfock.
Foo da bairns o Rörick man a gawped
at men at biggit chapels, walked in silence.
Someen man a shaan dem whaar da piltocks took
Sweyn Holm, Selkie Gyo; gied dem bere an kale
fae Ireland's strippit rigs or Bigton's toons.
Eence here, dey nivver could a left: trist slaked
wi beauty; air laced wi saat an honey.
St Francis could a felt at hame here if he'd come
ta Ninian's Isle. On a warm day he micht
a tocht himsel on some green suddern shore.
Da burnin pavements o Assisi couldna kyemp
wi dis pale nordern straand: a glisk on watter
is hit kissed da sheenin saand; a smush
o saandiloos aroond his feet, chastin froad
alang da shoormal is he gud. He wid a traded
martins fur a single laverock i da lift
sheerlin blissins on göd an ill alick.
An i da waa o Ninian's kirk he wid a fun a font
filt wi a stirlin's laachter. An i dis quiet place
a wagtail micht a tippit in ta sit wi him
- is shö sits apö da altar noo - her flicht
a peerie chancel dance wi dips an tirls
at's lifted centuries o haerts. She'd be
his perfect cantor for a chorus o göd wirds.
Here, on a boannie day, wi birds apö da wing
aa but da herdest haerts could fin demsels
communin wi da greater scheme o things.
___
at: that; dis: this; foo: how; man a: must have; shaan: shown; dem: them; piltocks: saithe (coal fish); dem: them; bere: barley; strippit: striped; rigs: fields; toons: arable fields; dey: they; could a: could have; trist: thirst; saat: salt; suddern: southern; kyemp: compete; dis: this; glisk: glimpse; smush: drizzle; saandiloos: ringed plovers; chastin: chasing; froad: foam; shoormal: tideline; gud: went; wid a: would have; lift: sky; sheerlin: singing; göd: good; alick: alike; waa: wall; fun: found; filt: filled; laachter: brood; tippit: walked jauntily; shö: she; apö: upon; peerie: little; tirls: twirls; at's: that's; göd wirds; prayers; demsels: themselves
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.
Cite this Document
APA Style:
St Ninian's Isle. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 26 April 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
MLA Style:
"St Ninian's Isle." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
Chicago Style
The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "St Ninian's Isle," accessed 26 April 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:
The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.
Information about Document 337
St Ninian's Isle
Top
