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Document 1398

Flying high

Author(s): James Hiddo Moncrieff

Copyright holder(s): James Hiddo Moncrieff

Text

I watched you perform:
Your one-wheeled bike
Your roller coaster ride
Your juggling with each day.

I watched you perform
Without a safety net:
Swinging on a trapeze
Shooting from the mouth of a cannon
Straddling the high-wire with ease.

Safe behind closed doors
And toughened safety glass;
Safe from the vagaries of the wind
Or crossing the road
I watched the last sliver of light
From a cold sunset -

And watched you fall, float gently
And fall like the lost feathers
Of a gunshot bird and it already
Dead upon the ground.

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.

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Cite this Document

APA Style:

Flying high. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 4 December 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1398.

MLA Style:

"Flying high." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 4 December 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1398.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Flying high," accessed 4 December 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1398.

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.

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Information about Document 1398

Flying high

Text

Text audience

Adults (18+)
General public
Audience size 1000+

Text details

Method of composition Wordprocessed
Year of composition 2005
Word count 95

Text medium

Magazine (e-zine)

Text publication details

Published
Publication year 2005
Place of publication Shetland
Part of larger text
Contained in The New Shetlander
Editor Laureen Johnson and Brian Smith
Page numbers 20

Text setting

Journalism

Text type

Poem/song/ballad

Author

Author details

Author id 972
Forenames James Hiddo
Surname Moncrieff
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment College
Age left school 19
Upbringing/religious beliefs Working class/Socialist
Occupation Retired
Place of birth Lerwick
Region of birth Shetland
Birthplace CSD dialect area Sh
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Bigton
Region of residence Shetland
Residence CSD dialect area Sh
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Telegraphist
Father's place of birth Lerwick
Father's region of birth Shetland
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Sh
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Housewife
Mother's place of birth Loppersum
Mother's region of birth Groningen
Mother's country of birth Holland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Home
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes Home

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