Helen Cruickshank

Helen Burness Cruickshank (15 May 1886 – 2 March 1975) was a Scottish poet and suffragist and a focal point of the Scottish Renaissance. Scottish writers associated with the movement met at her home in Corstorphine. Quotes Up the Noran Water In by Inglismaddy, Annie's got a bairnie That hasna got a daddy. Some say it's Tammas's An' some say it's Chay's; An' naebody expec'it it, Wi' Annie's quiet ways. "Shy Geordie", st. 1, in Up the Noran Water (1934) See Illegitimacy This man set the flame of his native genius under the cumbering whin of the untilled field; Lit a fire in the Mearns to illumine Scotland, clearing the sullen soil for a richer yield. "Spring in the Mearns", st. 6, in Sea Buckthorn (1954) Eulogising Lewis Grassic Gibbon Sae smoor yersel', my man, Pit oot yer licht, Grey hair that's tow To a lassie's lowe Is an unco sicht. "An Unco Sicht", st. 2, in Sea Buckthorn (1954) Laughter and gibes and scorn they brave for her: their pounds, their silver, and their pence they give; their time, their talent and their youth for her that she may live. "Lines for the Scottish Watch", st. 1, in Sea Buckthorn (1954) See Wendy Wood They agonise in sordid tenements, with children stabled worse than sheep or kye. O, how can grace or peace or health abide such poverty? "Lines for the Scottish Watch", st. 3, in Sea Buckthorn (1954) I mind o' the Ponnage Pule On a shinin' mornin', The saumon fishers Nettin' the bonny brutes — I' the slithery dark o' the boddom O' Charon's Coble Ae day I'll faddom my doots. "The Ponnage Pool", st. 4, in The Ponnage Pool (1968) But where this passionate self will go,    God knows, Who knows whence the lightning comes, and    whither it goes. "At the End", in Collected Poems (1971) While I am not teetotal, a drunk woman I find revolting and Burns orgies detestable. Octobiography (1976), ch. 9 Criticism in Scotland, of books as well as plays, is often bedevilled because we all know each other too well. The clique can cast its chill over its rivals; the claque delude with false praise. Octobiography (1976), ch. 15 I am not asked out to drinking parties and have never been in a Rose Street pub. I can't be a poet. Octobiography (1976), ch. 20 Unsourced I mind o' the Ponnage Pool,The reid brae risin',Morphie Lade,An' the saumon that louped the dam,A tree i' Martin's DenWi' names carved on it;But I ken na wha I am. "The Ponnage Pool" Bide the storm ye canna hinder,Mindin’ through the strife,Hoo the luntin’ lowe o’ beautyLichts the grey o’ life. "Sea Buckthorn" The man that mates wi’ PovertyAn’ clasps her tae his banes,Will faither lean an’ lively thochts,A host o’ eident weans. "Comfort in Puirtith" Under an arch o’ brambleSaftly she goes,Dark broon een like velvet,Cheeks like the rose. "In Glenskenno Woods" External links Category:Poets from Scotland Category:Women authors from Scotland Category:Women's rights activists Category:1886 births Category:1975 deaths