JIM Carruth wrote these lines on the theme of homecoming in 2009.

The returning one he had in mind was not human, but animal - the beaver, reintroduced into Scotland after an absence of more than 400 years.

MAINLY NOCTURNAL

Two words are all it takes

to picture your homecoming,

silent night swimmer;

smooth-furred and streamlined,

you arc and dive away from the bank.

Webbed feet and flat tail

propel you through absence,

an impatient stream's rush of years,

dammed by tree trunk,

branch and mud.

Two words are all I need

for you to surface,

a small constellation of wonder,

cluster of whiskers, eyes and nose

emerging through the darkness.

I welcome you back,

connoisseur of willow, birch and oak,

come to reclaim this territory,

circle it with your scent,

make your mark in water and bark.