SCOTS
CMSW

Document 1492

Going Home

Author(s): Sheila Templeton

Copyright holder(s): Sheila Templeton

Text

Peesie weeps and whaups shrieking
wheeling high above ploughed parks.
Granda's calloused hand holds mine.
We are watching oyster catchers
mincing in the shining shallow
waters of the quartz pebbled Don.

He wears faded flapping dungarees
with a craftsman's special pocket.
His bonnet covers bumpy bits
and narrow strands of hair. I lean
against his smell, freshly dusted
sawdust mixed through
Capstan Navy Full Strength.

We wonder at a salmon glistening
on a bed of fragrant weed.
Then like a serving spoon
the river flips it over.
We see what's underneath.

'Ach. Otters are right bonny beasts
but they're selfish wee buggers'

He shows me distant Bennachie
with Mither Tap glassing
black against its clouds. I listen
rapt to tales of vanished tribes
who built tall fires there, who
knew how to melt rock
and weld stones forever.

Then going home planting
my feet in Granda's prints,
in that careful space
down the side of a park
filled with young green corn.

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.

Close

Cite this Document

APA Style:

Going Home. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 11 December 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1492.

MLA Style:

"Going Home." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 11 December 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1492.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Going Home," accessed 11 December 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1492.

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.

Close

Information about Document 1492

Going Home

Text

Text audience

General public
Audience size 1000+

Text details

Method of composition Wordprocessed
Year of composition 2006
Word count 167

Text medium

Book
Newspaper
Periodical/journal
Radio

Text publication details

Published
Part of larger text
Contained in Slow Road Home (Sheila Templeton) / Running Threads (Jim Hughes, Rowena M Love, Michael Malone, Sheila Templeton)

Text setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Text type

Poem/song/ballad

Author

Author details

Author id 1075
Forenames Sheila
Surname Templeton
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 18
Upbringing/religious beliefs upbringing Protestantism, now Eastern Yoga meditation practice
Occupation Retired Teacher
Place of birth Aberdeen
Region of birth Aberdeen
Birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
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 Railway Engineer / originally farm worker
Father's place of birth Stoneywood
Father's region of birth Aberdeen
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Doctors' Receptionist
Mother's place of birth Dyce
Mother's region of birth Aberdeen
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes At work, at home, writing
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes At home, writing work mainly poetry

Close