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  • Sea Buckthorn
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Sea Buckthorn

Helen Cruickshank

Saut an’ cruel winds tae shear it,
Nichts o’ haar an’ rain –
Ye micht think the sallow buckthorn
Ne’er a hairst could hain;
But amang the sea-bleached branches
Ashen-grey as pain,
Thornset orange berries cluster
Flamin’, beauty-fain.

Daith an’ dule will stab ye surely,
Be ye man or wife,
Mony trauchles an’ mischances
In ilk weird are rife;
Bide the storm ye canna hinder,
Mindin’ through the strife,
Hoo the luntin’ lowe o’ beauty
Lichts the grey o’ life.


Helen Cruickshank

from Up the Noran Water and other Scots poems (Methuen, 1934), and included in Collected Poems (Reprographia, 1971)

Reproduced by permission of the Estate of Helen Cruickshank

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Optimism & Happiness Scots
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Helen Cruickshank1886 - 1975

The poet Helen Cruickshank did much to promote, popularise, and chronicle the Scottish Literary Renaissance movement in the middle years of the 20th century.
More about Helen Cruickshank

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