Document 337
St Ninian's Isle
Author(s): Christine De Luca
Copyright holder(s): Christine De Luca
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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.
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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
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APA Style:
St Ninian's Isle. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 6 October 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
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"St Ninian's Isle." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 6 October 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
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The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "St Ninian's Isle," accessed 6 October 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=337.
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The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.