Saturday, May 09, 2009

Scots in Malaŵi

I recognised my student Rose
by the Bank of Scotland t-shirt she chose
to wear to class before her uniform arrived.

I found my way around the map
by following traces of a certain chap
called Livingstone as we have presumed.

From Mzuzu to Malindi
the place is full of Scots of inde-
pendent spirit and enquiring mind.

Even Banda was a Scot
by formation as near as not.

But the shops sell Coca Cola and never Irn Bru.





previously published in my pamphlet Bougainvillea Dancing

for more about the connections between Scotland and Malawi, visit the Scotland Malawi Partnership website.

Hyperlinking my poetry for Read Write Poem. The best idea is to read the poem all the way through and then follow the links to find out more. I'm not sure how much creative, rather than informative value there is in adding hyperlinks to poetry, but i think its worth looking into. What do you think?

5 comments:

Ana said...

A new perspective (context) on Scots and Scotland.

Wayne Pitchko said...

very interesting read

Andy Sewina said...

Yeah, dead good, and I love the Irn-bru link, 'made in Scotlaln by Girders' the advert used to read.

James said...

I like the rhyme in this and the way inde- breaks on a line. I'm actually reading this aloud to myself and loving the way the words roll.

I like the hyperlinking because it offers insight into obscure references (if a reader wants that), but it doesn't interfere with the natural flow of the poem.

Raven's Wing Poetry said...

The hyperlinks added to the poem and helped my understanding. I also like your rhyme scheme. Nice write.