Dundee Poem by Sheena Blackhall

The official city motto o Dundee's a giftie frae God
Twa dragons, uphaud a pot o daffs, its symbolism-
Aabody in Scotlan ower the age o saxty
Kens the toun is famed
Fur Jute, an Jam an skeelie Journalism

Aabody in Scotlan fa reads odes
Kens o McGonigall, a dreepin tap
Bit dae they ken that Scotia's peetifu bard
Wis Irish, or mebbe an Embro-burger, twa chips short o a bap?

Ae toun, mony discoveries
RRS Discovery,Scott's Antarctic boat…
O dinna speir ‘Far is it? '
Berthed in Dundee, itwytes fur ye tae veesit

In this UNESCO City o Design
(sic byordnar futurist creations)
Fitba's heich on the ceetizens leet o likes
The V&A Dundee -doon on the watterfront
Gies it a heeze in the towrist buiks o ratins

FortyDundee whale ships lie at the Arctic foun
A lang, sair daith bi frost-bite an stervation
A Gothic horror airt fur men tae droon

On a sweeter note
Warldwide fowk spreid their breid wi marmalade
(Keiller's, fit ither)an chaw up Dundee cake on Hogmanay
Bringin in the bells, brither tae brither

An there are bonnie screivers, frae Dundee
Fitt,Paterson,Burnside anDouglas Dunn
An thespians, like Cox, the billionaire
An sangsters, Michael Marra, RIP

An fa'd skyte ower Scots Jungian archetypes:
Paw, Maw an Granpaw Broon, their bickerin bairns
The Beano, Dandy an The P& J?
The comic pliskies o the Scots at play

Nae fur Dundee, some po-faced general glorifeed in bronze
Na, na, it's Desperate Dan himsel strides oot,
Oor Willie, Minnie the Minx, an sic like craiturs
Weel kent fur smeddum, couthie,vaunty naturs

Wannerin the Murraygate, ye'll meet
A Dundee dragon statue, flashin his wings an tail.
Eftir a nesty breet fa ett nine quines
Jings Crivens Help ma Boab an Stop the Bus!
That sic a beast is on the shoppin trail!

Their faither fand their giblets on the grun
An fetched his youngest dother's luver Martin
He hacked its heid aff, doonbye Craigowl Knowe
The dragon, deein, spakkDundonian
A lanely mythic dragon, aa alane:

‘Tempted at Pitempton
Draigled at Baldragon
Stricken at Strathmartine
An killt at Martin's Stane'

(It should hae ett Coo Pie like Desperate Dan
Or eschewed maet, bin vegetarian)

Glesga has its fish, Embro its doe
Aiberdeen has leopards on its shield
The Dundee dragon's fit tae jyne them aa
The emblem of this strang an thrivin bield