This vivid childhood recollection from an older rural Scotland was penned by Helen B Cruickshank (1886-1975), whose life took her from her Angus roots to a civil service job London, and thence to Edinburgh, where she was prominent in the literary scene.
Her Collected Poems were published by Reprographia in 1971.
BACKGROUND
Frost, I mind, an' snaw,
An' a bairn comin' hame frae the schule
Greetin', nearly, wi' cauld,
But seein', for a' that,
The icicles i' the ditch,
The snaw-ploo's marbled tracks,
An' the print o' the rabbits' feet
At the hole i' the wire.
"Bairn, ye're blue wi' cauld!"
An apron warmed at the fire,
An' frostit fingers rubbed
Till they dirl wi' pain.
Buttered toast an' tea,
The yellow licht o' the lamp,
An' the cat on the clootie rug
Afore the fire.
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