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Document 1481

Sweet, Sweet Memories

Author(s): Rowena M Love

Copyright holder(s): Rowena M Love

Text

The sea sucks hard on gob-stopper pebbles,
rolling them round and round
so they rattle and click like sweets against teeth.
Bubble gum excesses are trapped in bladderwrack,
and boot lace liquorice
masquerades as mermaids’ hair
where fish in silver wrappers swim.
Sandstone, the seaside rock,
is eroded into nut clusters.
In coves,
the sand is humbugged wet and dry
and candy-coated shells abound.
Sand worm casts curl into walnut whips,
while birds’ footprints pattern the sand like continental chocolates.
Dead jelly fish ooze:
Turkish delight,
whose sugar has been licked clean by the sea.
Stray floats litter the beach with pan drops,
and a life belt lies half-buried like an abandoned polo mint.
A matchmaker pier strides into the distance.
A closer look reveals barnacles crusting the pilings
with sugar crystals.
Perhaps the pier is past its sell-by date?
Sweet, sweet memories.
And all because the lady loves...
the seaside.

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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:

Sweet, Sweet Memories. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 11 November 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1481.

MLA Style:

"Sweet, Sweet Memories." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 11 November 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1481.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Sweet, Sweet Memories," accessed 11 November 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1481.

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 1481

Sweet, Sweet Memories

Text

Text audience

Adults (18+)
General public
Males
Females
Audience size 100+

Text details

Method of composition Wordprocessed
Year of composition 1998
Word count 155

Text medium

Magazine (e-zine)
Periodical/journal
Web (webpages, discussion boards, newsgroups, chat rooms)

Text publication details

Published
Publication year 1998
Part of larger text
Contained in Helicon Poetry Magazine, Issue XIII, June 1998

Text setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Text type

Poem/song/ballad

Author

Author details

Author id 1068
Forenames Rowena
Initials M
Surname Love
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1960
Educational attainment University, PCGE and Maîtrise
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Teacher and writer
Place of birth Dumbarton
Region of birth Dunbarton
Birthplace CSD dialect area Dnbt
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Troon
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Master Mariner and Teacher
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 Nurse
Mother's place of birth Rankinston
Mother's region of birth N Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes At work and home
French Yes Yes Yes Yes At work, on holiday
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes At home, occasionally at work

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