Jackie Kay Poems

How they strut about, people in love,
How tall they grow, pleased with themselves,
Their hair, glossy, their skin shining.
They don't remember who they have been.
...

I did not promise
to stay with you till death do us part, or
anything like that,
...

When I got home
I went out into the garden
Liking it when the frost bit
...

I always wanted to give birth
Do that incredible natural thing
That women do-I nearly broke down
...

If ye went tae the tapmost hill, Fiere
Whaur we used tae clamb as girls,
Ye'd see the snow the day, Fiere,
Settling on the hills.
...

My mum is on a high bed next to sad chrysanthemums.
‘Don't bring flowers, they only wilt and die.'
I am scared my mum is going to die
on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums.
...

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met
are still alive, twelve days later. Although

some of the buds remain closed as secrets.
...

‘The middle ground is the best place to be'
- Igbo saying

I will stand not in the past or in the future
...

Nothing can be hidden from Lochaline Stores,
Supposing the Grocer's has eyes and ears:
Not an addiction to scratch cards or whisky,
Not a partiality to a bottle of Chianti.
...

Let's blether about doors.
Revolving doors and sliding doors;

Half-opened, half-closed:
The door with your name on it,
...